Doctors treating Teddy Hall student Kentaro Ikeda following his attack say they must wait seven days before they will be able to tell if Mr Ikeda has suffered brain damage.
Medical staff at the John Radcliffe hospital later treated Mr Ikeda for severe head injuries and a fractured skull. They have described his condition as being critical.
Thames Valley Police announced today that they have found a weapon which they believe caused the injuries to the Oxford University student in an attack yesterday morning.
“We have found an object, which we believe to be the weapon used to cause Mr
Ikeda’s injuries,” a spokesman has said, though police did not confirm what sort of weapon it was.
Mr Ikeda, a 26-year-old postgraduate student, was attacked while walking on a cycle path early yesterday morning.
Passers-by found Mr Ikeda at 2am lying on the path which runs between Ferry Road and the University Parks in North Oxford. The area was cordoned off by police while a forensic search was conducted.
A rucksack belonging to Mr Ikeda was found nearly half a mile away and police have said that they believe a bicycle (a black and grey mountain bike with green panniers) was also stolen during the incident.
Mr Ikeda is currently a student of St Edmund Hall and comes from the Japanese island of Fukushima. He previously studied at Leicester University.
Det Ch Insp George Bain, leading the investigation into the attack, told the Oxford Mail, “I am appealing to the four people who were with Mr Ikeda when the ambulance arrived to contact the police.
“There were two men giving first aid, an Asian woman and a man who directed the ambulance crew to the scene.
“This is a brutal attack and we need to find out what happened to Mr Ikeda” he added.
Thames Valley Police have also said that they did not know how long Mr Ikeda was unconscious before he was found by passers-by.
Anyone who witnessed the attack or who has information which could aid the police in their investigation has been urged to contact Thames Valley Police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
