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Anthony Stokes given suspended sentence for nightclub attack

Blackburn Rovers striker Anthony Stokes has been hit with a two-year suspended sentence for assaulting an Elvis impersonator in a nightclub.

The 28-year-old pleaded guilty last November over the attack in what was then Buck Whaleys on Leeson Street in Dublin on June 8, 2013.

Dublin-born Stokes, who spent six years playing for Celtic, is also to pay the victim, Anthony Bradley, €30,000.

Judge Patricia Ryan said she was taking into consideration "the seriousness of the offence and the personal circumstances" of Stokes.

Dublin's Circuit Criminal Court heard that Bradley, 53, suffered a broken nose and two broken teeth in the incident.

He has also been diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition since the assault, which causes pain across his neck and shoulders.

Judge Ryan also ordered Stokes to sign a bond to be on good behaviour for two years.