The footballer left for dead in a brutal attack has proposed to his girlfriend of nine years after she took up a devoted vigil by his bedside.

Robert Hughes, 28, asked for nurse Charlotte Kemp’s hand in marriage in front of family and friends on her 26th birthday just days before he was given the OK to fly back to England.

Miss Kemp’s answer for the former Sutton United footballer, who doctors once feared would not survive the attack on June 17 in Malia, Crete, was unequivocal.

She said: “I just cried really, I don’t think I ever thought I would get rid of him, I knew he would sneak back into my life.

“Now I’ve got him forever."

Since Robert returned home one more independent witness has come forward and the family have reported several sightings of his attackers.

But Robert said he had nothing to fear.

He said: “I’ve got nothing to be afraid of; they’re cowards."

Robert, who used to play for Croydon Athletic, has no memories of the night and can only remember the last three weeks spent in hospital, but he does recall feeling “it would go on forever".

His family however, who flew to be by his bedside since they heard of the attack, remember everything.

His sister Alaina, 22, said: “We used to say to him just show us a sign, move your fingers or your toes – anything to show you can hear us.

“Then at one point, all of a sudden, from the waist down he starts moving – it looked like he was doing football training exercises.

“It was out of this world."

Robert smiles at the story and says simply: “I love football, what can I say."

“I just want to get strong again. I want to start playing football professionally and teaching kids how to play – it’s going to be the Robert Hughes Soccer Club."

On Sunday a charity football match was held in his honour at Bromley Football Club’s ground at Hayes Lane.

His mum Maggie, who is setting up a not-for-profit support group for families who find themselves in similar situations abroad, sold t-shirts with the slogan: Please enjoy, don’t destroy, at the event.

After all her struggles caring for her son in a foreign land, Maggie has one word on her mind.

She said: “I will not stop until the people responsible for this are brought to justice.

“That’s all I want: justice."