A nine-month-old baby who had hot coffee poured over him in what police say was a deliberate and unprovoked attack has emerged from his second surgery, though the path to full recovery remains unclear.

Baby Luka and his mother were at Brisbane’s Hanlon Park in Stones Corner about midday Tuesday when a man allegedly approached the pair before pouring hot coffee over the child and then running away.

The infant suffered serious burns from the harrowing alleged attack and underwent the first of what is expected to be multiple surgeries on Friday, including to determine whether he would need a skin graft.

The boy’s mother wrote on Instagram on Saturday it looked “like the burns under Luka’s neck and chest will scar and potentially need skin grafts,” with a second surgery scheduled for Tuesday.

She added that it “wasn’t the news” she was hoping for, but was glad that “most of his face, arms, and legs should heal very well,” attached to images of the boy bandaged almost completely while in the hospital.

“I’ve really struggled to cope with what’s happening to Luka; the cries, pain, any slight issue I am instantly triggered and brought back to the traumatic moment,” the woman wrote in a separate Instagram story.

Thanking her partner for his support, the woman added: “Constant flash backs … I feel like a helpless mother right now who cannot support her son how she wants too … I love my boys more than anything in the world.”

It comes as police continue to try and locate the man they wish to speak to, described as between aged 30-40 years old, of a proportionate build, with tanned skin, dressed in a black hat, glasses, a shirt and shorts.

Queensland Police Detective Inspector Paul Dalton described the attack during the week as being “almost like an ambush,” while Premier Steven Miles said he had been briefed about the alleged attack.

“The baby is doing well in hospital and I’m sure our clinicians have done a great job taking care of him … I know our police are working hard to apprehend that alleged offender,” Miles said the matter.

A GoFundMe account set up to help cover the infant’s medical costs has so far raised $97,000 ($67,000 US) as of Saturday morning, well above the target of just $5,000 ($3,400 US), with individual donations as large as $5,000.

Supporters included businesses and individuals, people known to the pair and not, who described the alleged attack as “horrifying and unbearable”, and said Luka was a “beautiful, innocent soul”.