In a statement tendered to the court, he recalled being punched outside Groove Saint in Dean Street and spending the night at the Albury hospital.

The man, 20, said for the following few days he was without medication and in a great deal of pain.

“I was unable to walk for more than a couple of minutes at a time, unable to eat any solids, drive, work or perform basic tasks,” he said.

He saw a doctor and was referred to a facial surgeon at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.

“The surgery resulted in me having five weeks away from work,” he said.

He was employed as a full-time casual and was not entitled to sick pay.

It was a difficult financial period because he was renting a house.

The victim had suffered a fractured eye socket and cheekbone along with nasal and jaw fractures.

A titanium plate was inserted under his skin.

“I now cannot involve myself in team sports or any physically demanding recreational activities such as skiing, mountain biking and martial arts, which I was passionately involved with,” he said.