By Nick Ferraro

Pioneer Press

MANKATO — A relative of Isaac Kolstad says the former Minnesota State University football player critically injured in an assault last month near a downtown Mankato bar has undergone successful skull surgery and stood for the first time since the beating.

Kolstad, 24, husband and father of two daughters, including a newborn, was hospitalized with a traumatic injury after the May 11 beating in the downtown’s entertainment district.

Former University of Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson, 20, of Mankato, and Trevor Shelley, 21, of St. Peter have been charged with first- and third-degree felony assault.

Kolstad’s brother-in-law Mike Fleming wrote on Kolstad’s CaringBridge website that surgeons at Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato have replaced a bone flap that was removed to allow for swelling of the brain.

“All went as planned and he is currently recovering,” Fleming wrote Friday after the surgery. “He is in a lot of pain, but his care team is working very closely with him to get him comfortable.”

Speech and physical therapists visited Kolstad in the hospital to show his family some activities he will be participating in when he is moved to a rehabilitation facility, Fleming wrote.

A speaking valve was placed on Kolstad’s trachea, and he is being encouraged to talk, according to Fleming.

“The return of speech will certainly take time, but if he wanted to say something, he could,” Fleming wrote.

Physical therapists helped Kolstad sit on the edge of the bed, and he “worked on holding up his head and torso.”

Kolstad stood three times with assistance from physical therapists.

“He even followed direction from the therapists and stood taller when asked, bearing weight on his legs for the first time in over 4 weeks,” Fleming wrote.

Authorities said a verbal confrontation between Kolstad and Nelson escalated when Kolstad knocked Nelson down with a punch to his back.

Shelley then allegedly punched Kolstad in the head, knocking him unconscious. At that point, Nelson delivered at least one kick to Kolstad’s head as he lay on the ground, defenseless, authorities said.

Kolstad and Nelson attended high school in Mankato. In December, Kolstad graduated from Minnesota State University, where he also played linebacker.

On June 4, Kolstad’s wife, Molly, delivered the couple’s second daughter, also at the Mankato hospital where Kolstad is being treated.

—Distributed by MCT Information Services