Director of Music at Clare College, Graham Ross, says he was hospitalised for 12 days after being assaulted “by a complete stranger” in central Cambridge.

In a post shared on Instagram and X on Friday (23/05), the fellow wrote that he had recently been discharged from Addenbrooke’s hospital following an attack which shattered his left femur “into multiple pieces”.

Ross said that the assault, which happened after a “wonderful evening” spent with over 100 Clare choir alumni, had left him “lying incapacitated” for over 90 minutes. The identity of the attacker is unknown, though Ross says police investigations into the incident are ongoing.

Alongside photos of himself in hospital and an X-ray of his injuries, the fellow explained that it had taken four orthopaedic surgeons six hours to “rebuild” his leg, during which time he reportedly “lost three litres of blood and subsequently needed multiple transfusions and ongoing blood thinners”. Ross says he will now need to “recuperate at home and learn how to walk again”.

“I’ve truly never experienced pain like it, in every sense,” he added.

Ross, who has been the Music Director at Clare for 15 years, is also a conductor and composer, who has been a guest conductor at orchestras such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Concert Orchestra, and Danish National Symphony Orchestra.

The fellow said he was “especially grateful” for two of his former students who had witnessed the “miserable event” for staying with him throughout the “first excruciating night”. He also extended his thanks to Tim Brown, his predecessor as Music Director at Clare, for taking over his role “at zero notice”.

He also expressed his gratitude to “every single NHS trauma surgeon, consultant, doctor, nurse, health care assistant, occupational therapist, physio, radiographer, caterer, porter, & member of staff at Addenbrookes,” whose “dedication” to his care and recovery he described as “nothing short of incredible”.

Ross thanked his husband for helping with his recovery, adding: “Ward D8 was not quite the place we had planned to celebrate our 6th Wedding Anniversary, but in sickness and in health and all that.”