Gardaí investigating a brutal assault which caused severe hand injuries to a young man in Waterford have arrested a 28-year-old in connection with the incident, writes Conor Kane.

The victim of the assault, 20-year-old Dean Flynn, was today said to be “recovering well” in Cork University Hospital following lengthy surgery yesterday.

Initial reports following the assault at 2.50pm on Monday suggested two of Mr Flynn’s fingers and a thumb were cut off when he was set upon on a green area at Priory Lawn in Waterford city.

Gardaí would not confirm the nature of Mr Flynn’s injuries, or his prognosis today, apart from saying the injuries were “serious”, but he was in a stable condition.

Detectives investigating the incident spoke to the victim in hospital last night while gardaí also conducted door-to-door inquiries yesterday and have been appealing for witnesses and anyone else with information to contact them.

A 28-year-old man was arrested at about 10am this morning in Waterford city as part of the investigation. He is understood to live locally.

He can be held for questioning for up to 24 hours under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act.

Gardaí said yesterday that the injuries suffered by Mr Flynn were consistent with a “slash-type” motion during the assault.

The area where it happened is near the shopping area and the church in Ballybeg, just off the Cork Road on the edge of Waterford city.

Mr Flynn was initially taken by ambulance to University Hospital Waterford but later transferred to Cork.

It is believed that one or two assailants used a “saw-like blade” or a knife to injure Mr Flynn.

A car used by the culprits to escape the scene was later found abandoned and has been examined by gardaí.