Irish Olympic taekwondo star Jack Woolley requires PLASTIC SURGERY following late-night Dublin assault (GRAPHIC PHOTOS)

Jack Wooley, whose emotional interview after defeat during the Tokyo Olympics went viral online last month, will require plastic surgery after he says he was the victim of a random, unprovoked attack while socializing in Dublin.

Woolley, 22, who is an emerging star in the martial art, had seemed destined for a spot in the Olympic taekwondo quarter-finals when he was ahead of Argentina's Lucas Guzman with just seconds remaining in the final round of their contest. 

However, the Irishman's route to an Olympic medal evaporated in front of his eyes when Guzman connected with a late trunk kick to claim a late win, with Woolley dropping to his knees in disappointment when time expired. 

Woolley's tearful post-fight interview subsequently went viral online, with hundreds of thousands of people watching him come to terms with his Olympic disappointment live on television in which he admitted that he was struggling to keep his tears at bay.

And now, just a couple of weeks later, Woolley has once again found himself the subject of voluminous tweets after he posted pictures of the aftermath of a late night assault in Dublin City in which he says he was "sucker punched" from behind, leaving him with injuries which will require plastic surgery as well as several stitches on his upper lip. 

Subsequent footage also appears to indicate that he lost at least one tooth in the attack. 

A picture posted by Woolley to his Instagram account shows him sitting on the ground with a substantial amount of blood covering his head and clothes. The previous picture on the slideshow shows him posing for a photograph on a bridge above Dublin's iconic River Liffey - with Woolley saying the two photographs were shot just minutes apart. 

"How’s everyone’s night going? Mines delightful," he added on social media from the back of an ambulance.

Instagram / @jack__woolley__ © Instagram

Instagram / @jack__woolley__ © Instagram

According to the Irish Times, Woolley's mother explained that her son had been crossing a road when he was randomly attacked by a member of the public, who subsequently ran away. 

"He was crossing the road and he just got smacked in the face," said Annette Woolley. "He keeps saying he’s fine and he’s grand. He got a little bit of sleep which is more than I did," she added.

"He will be eating an awful lot of ice cream for the next few weeks."

A spokesperson for the Irish police has said that an investigation is ongoing into the assault.