The 32-year-old was “blindsided” and set upon by six men last week in an attack that left him battered, bruised and at a loss for answers.

He wants to know why they attacked him, breaking his leg, his nose and shattering six teeth. But more than that he wants to know why nobody stepped in.

“I went to meet up with a friend of mine at the local pub,” Shannon Amendola told 3AW when recounting the March 8 attack.

“I’m not a drinking man at all so alcohol was not an issue. I left the pub and not long after ... I’m still getting a recollection of what happened.”

He said the gang, made up of six men who were of caucasian and African appearance, shouted “hey” and “oi” before the beating started.

“I didn’t have a chance,” he said. “There was six of them ... didn’t have a chance to turn my head and I was savagely beaten to the ground.”

The attack took place on Lonsdale St in Dandenong and the 32-year-old says he was shocked that nobody stepped in to help.

“No one would even help me. People were too scared to help. There were about 30 bystanders who did nothing because they were too scared of these savages,” Mr Amendola said.

“It went for six or seven minutes. I’m lucky to be alive. I’m lucky to come home to my daughter.”

Victoria Police confirmed Mr Amendola was assaulted shortly after 7.30pm and that he sustained serious injuries that left him hospitalised.

A police spokesman told news.com.au “one of the men is described as African, wearing a high visibility fluoro vest and two other men are described as caucasian”.

Mr Amendola plans on pressing charges when he’s well enough to attend a police station. In the meantime he’s left to consider how lucky he is to have survived, despite being fit, young and able to look after himself.

“I am not the biggest fella but I played rugby union for 10 years of my life,” he said. “I’ve never had a broken nose, never had teeth smashed out. I’ve never been so blindsided and unfairly just flattened out of nowhere ever before.

“This has taken me by surprised and I’m absolutely disgusted.”

Anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report online at www.crimestoppersvic.com