An alleged coward-punch that left a northwest Queensland club manager critically injured was unprovoked, police say.
Melissa Abdoo's head was hit hard against concrete and she reportedly suffered bleeding to the brain after she was attacked outside the Mount Isa pub where she works.
Police allege a man tried to hit her during the early hours of Saturday after she refused to allow him into the Buffs Club because he appeared too drunk.
He missed but his momentum carried himself into the woman causing her to fall backwards onto concrete.
A Queensland Police spokeswoman confirmed on Sunday that officers allege the coward-punch was unprovoked.
Buffs Club executive manager Karen Graham said staff were struggling to cope and were in shock.
"We're all devastated, we're completely devastated," she told ABC Radio.
"This is one of our family. It's hard - we're all doing it tough."
CCTV footage released by police shows Ms Abdoo speaking to a woman outside the Buffs Club, while a man stands nearby.
The man then lurches towards Ms Abdoo who falls backwards onto concrete, hitting her head. The man appears to run off.
The woman Ms Abdoo had been speaking to, reportedly the man's partner, immediately goes to her aid.
Ms Abdoo's condition has improved, with Townsville hospital staff saying she was listed as stable on Sunday.
The incident follows public outrage over the one-punch attack in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley last weekend that claimed the life of 18-year-old Cole Miller.
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