Robbie Hughes (pictured), who is now 29-years-old, is a former Sutton United and Croydon Athletic player, who was on the verge of signing Ryman Premier Division side Bromley FC just over two years ago when his was brutally beaten without warning.

Hughes had his head viciously stamped on to such an extent that his skull caved in.

He was rushed to hospital and given just 48 hours to live but somehow managed to survive following four life-saving operations.

Hughes was told that he would never play football again but returned to action last year with the aid of a protective head guard.

He now suffers from memory loss, obsessive compulsive disorder and fits but the story of his heroic return to football reached Jeff Davis, the FA’s national manager for disability football, who has invited him to an England training camp this weekend.

Davis told insideworldparasport: "Rob has been invited to an England training camp this weekend to see if he can make the classification to be eligible for the squad.

"If he does then we will look to include him in the squad with a possibility of playing in London 2012.

"We have a number of hurdles in front of Rob but with his determination I am sure he can make the team on football ability."

Hughes mother Maggie, who now runs the ‘Please Enjoy, Don’t Destroy’ campaign to help victims and their families deal with crime or serious injury abroad, added: "Robert has come such a long way.

"He had to have half his skull removed after the attack to try to save his life and then we had to wait to see if he would live or die.

"When he awoke from the coma he was paralysed down one side and couldn’t speak, eat or even move.

"So to potentially be offered a place in the British Paralympics team is an absolute honour.

"But this tells a greater story to all victims of crime or serious injury and that is that there can be a goal at the end of the tunnel if we all work as a team."

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