Alleged Victim of Mark Sanchez Released, Faces Long Recovery

The alleged victim in the Mark Sanchez stabbing incident has been released from the hospital, the 69-year-old’s lawyers tell TMZ Sports … but with serious injuries that make it hard to even talk, he’s got a long road to recovery.

We spoke with attorneys Erik May and Eddie Reichert on Monday — the men representing Perry Tole — who was severely wounded after an altercation with the former NFL QB early Saturday morning in downtown Indianapolis.

“He’s released from the hospital, recovering, and hopeful that he’ll regain function to, you know, his ability to speak,” May said.

“Right now he’s having a real difficult time communicating because of the large gash on his face that affected his jaw, tongue, and mouth. He’s just at home resting, but we expect further medical treatment and ongoing treatment well into the future.”

Tote suffered a deep gash to his face, in addition to other injuries.

May praised the near-70-year-old for being a “tough son-of-a-gun” … who just received his U.S. citizenship in September.

Reichert also highlighted Tole’s strong family values, revealing that his son’s wedding is this weekend — an event his lawyers say he will now have to miss thanks to the incident with Sanchez.

“We’re just all really thankful that he’s still with us,” May said, “Anytime a 69-year-old gets into any kind of scrum, you worry about what the health consequences of something like that is gonna be.”

“It’s not every day you get in a scrum with a 6’2″, 230-pound, ex-professional athlete.”

On Monday, Tole filed a civil lawsuit against Sanchez, claiming he “suffered permanent disfigurement, loss of function, other physical injuries, emotional distress, and other damages.”

He also sued FOX Corporation, claiming they should have known Sanchez’s “unfitness” due to his “propensity for drinking and/or harmful conduct.”