Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher. (File photo)

TORONTO - It's unclear whether Noel Gallagher looks back in anger on the day he was attacked on stage by a drunken fan 18 months ago.

But the Oasis guitarist says that when the Pickering man blindsided him and sent him flying into a speaker during the outdoor concert on Toronto Island on Sept. 7, 2008, he felt "like he had been hit by a bus."

The British pop icon suffered three broken ribs and the band's headline performance at the Virgin Music Festival had to be cut short.

The man behind the attack, Daniel Sullivan, 48, who pleaded guilty in November to assault causing bodily harm, was in an Old City Hall courtroom Tuesday for sentencing.

But the contractor will have to wait until an April 21 sentencing date to find out whether he'll serve jail time.

Sullivan's lawyer, John Collins, said his client has been ready to take his "medicine" since last month, when the proceeding was put on hold because Gallagher wanted to be in court to read his victim impact statement.

But as it turned out, Gallagher, who spent months recovering from his injuries and had to cancel numerous concerts, wasn't able to attend because of his busy schedule.

His statement was instead read aloud by Crown prosecutor Ruth Kleinhenz-Neilson.

"I had no idea what happened," Gallagher recalled in his statement.

The battered rock star outlined his injuries and the "serious pain" he experienced for months after the attack.

A video of the assault, which was shot by a fan, was played in court.

In the footage, a drunken Sullivan is seen rushing Gallagher from backstage, shoving the guitarist from behind, then lunging toward Gallagher's younger brother, Liam, 37, the band's lead singer, before being stopped by security.

The Crown said Gallagher's injuries and the cancellation of subsequent shows hurt sales of the band's album and there's no way to know how much it cost them in the end.

Kleinhenz-Neilson also pointed out the accused seems more focused on how his own life has been impacted and she's asking for jail time.

But Collins reiterated that Sullivan is "profoundly sorry" and reminded the judge his client is a middle-aged man who has never been in trouble with the law.

He believes a conditional sentence is in order, rather than imprisonment, and community service.

The Gallagher siblings, born in Manchester, rose to fame in the mid-1990s with such songs as Wonderwall, Champagne Supernova, Don't Look Back in Anger and What's the Story Morning Glory.

The brothers have had numerous public spats over the years and Oasis finally split up a little over a year ago. Noel Gallagher, 42, has since embarked on a solo career.

He's also proceeding with a civil suit against Sullivan in the range of $2 million.