Mason ‘not rushing’ return after suffering fractured skull

Ryan Mason has not put a time-scale on making a return to football after suffering a fractured skull in January.

The Tigers midfielder said he felt “lucky to be alive” after needing surgery following his clash of heads with Chelsea centre-back Gary Cahill.

“There’s no timescale on anything and I’m just taking each day as it comes,” the 25-year-old said.

Photo caption: Getty Images

“But my mind is right and I’m looking forward to returning a better player.

“There will come a time when I can really kick on, and I hope that will be soon, but I’m not going to push things when it’s not necessary.”

The former Spurs man required eight minutes of treatment on the pitch at Stamford Bridge during which he was given oxygen and was carried off on a stretcher.

Mason then had surgery at St Mary’s Hospital in London, where he stayed for a week before being released.

“It was one of those unfortunate incidents that happen in football sometimes. Luckily I had the right people around me from the second it happened and I have been recovering ever since,” he added.

“It was a bit of an eye-opener as to what can happen to you at any time. It’s a scary moment when you’re on a football pitch and realise that your life is in danger – it was a one-in-a-million kind of thing.

“Thankfully the doctors and all of the medical people around me knew what was happening straight away and they handled it with great care and professionalism. I appreciate everything they did for me on that day.”