Ryder discharged from hospital

New Zealand batsman Jesse Ryder has returned home from hospital almost a week after he was assaulted by a group of men outside a bar which left the cricketer with critical head injuries.

"He was discharged earlier this afternoon and flew back to Wellington this evening," Ryder's manager Aaron Klee said.

"He's at home now and resting - he's really exhausted, but happy to be home," Klee told cricinfo.

The 28-year-old Ryder, who was assaulted twice in a space of few minutes late on Wednesday night last week, was admitted to the intensive care unit of a Christchurch hospital with a fractured skull.

He was in induced coma due to multiple injuries but came out of it on Saturday and began talking again as well as breathing without the assistance of the ventilator.

The cricketer was moved out of the ICU a day later.

The New Zealand police had arrested two men in connection with the assault -- a 20-year-old Christchurch resident and a 37-year-old relative who was visiting the city.

They have been bailed to appear in the Christchurch District Court on Thursday.

Photograph: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images