'Mistaken identity': Man left beaten after home invasion in Melbourne

A Victorian man has been left with a fractured skull and broken arm after he was attacked in a violent home invasion, which police believe was a case of mistaken identity.

The victim, known as "Robert", is recovering from mental and physical scars after three men broke into his Ringwood East home on June 15 last year.

The 50-year-old was sleeping about 1am, when he heard the sound of glass smashing after the men forced entry through the rear door.

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The men repeatedly assaulted Robert, before searching and stealing a safe containing personal documents, a mobile phone and wallet before fleeing the scene in a black or grey sedan.

Robert suffered fractures to the skull and ribs, a broken arm, loss of vision to his left eye, as well as bruising and swelling to his face and body.

'With my eye after surgery, I couldn't drive for about three months or see out of it properly," he said.

"It's still a bit blurry. I couldn't use my arm properly for at least 20 weeks, and I couldn't do any physical work for probably a good two months. I had no independence and couldn't really go anywhere as much."

The men were dressed in black and covered their faces during the ordeal, with one offender described to have single barrel firearm tucked in his shoe.

Detectives have conducted an extensive investigation since the incident, with a number of crucial pieces of information received from the public.

They believe the attack was a case of mistaken identity, with the intended target an unrelated local man involved with drugs.

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"This incident was a shocking case of mistaken identity, which left a victim traumatised and severely injured," Detective Sergeant Hannah Thompson said.

"This investigation has progressed significantly in recent times due to information received by detectives.

"Importantly, we now have a motive, an intended target and an alleged getaway car, which has opened a number of active lines of enquiry."

Robert said he hasn't been home since the incident and has now put the property up for sale.

"When the incident happened, I started living with my mum. I haven't been living at home since and I don't want to go back," he said.

"Just too many bad memories. I just always think that something else could happen and I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. I'm just going stay at mums. She's getting older and I do a lot of stuff for her."

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