Ryan Mason is again in the spotlight, albeit this time because of good news. After the resignation of José Mourinho, the former midfielder will be doing the honors for the time being in the dug-out of Tottenham Hotspur that he loves so much. More than four years ago, the flag was very different for Mason, who was born and raised in North London. On January 22, 2017, the intermediate pope of the Spurs as a Hull City player, suffered a skull fracture in a game against Chelsea. The risk of playing again was too great and on February 13, 2018, more than a year after the horror incident and at the age of only 26, the modest controller decided to give up his football boots prematurely.
Things went completely wrong for Mason on that cold Sunday afternoon at Stamford Bridge. After a hard collision with defender Gary Cahill’s head, the Hull midfielder lay motionless on the ground for minutes. His teammates, the Chelsea players and the West London public were shocked when Mason was carried off the field by stretcher. Certainly also because the retired player needed an oxygen mask during his sad retreat. In the hospital, a clear and firm conclusion was quickly drawn: a skull fracture. Cahill’s guilt was immense and, along with fellow defender John Terry, then Chelsea captain, he soon headed to Mason’s hospital bed to express his condolences. After a week’s admission to St. Mary’s Hospital in London, including necessary surgery, the Tottenham-trained midfielder showed a fighting spirit: a return to the fields became his mission.
The fatal collision with then Chelsea defender Gary Cahill fully portrayed.
Help from Petr Cech
Despite all the good intentions, it was a long and grueling recovery period for Mason, although he was supported on all sides during his grueling rehabilitation. There was the help of experience expert Petr Cech, himself the victim of a head injury in October 2006 after a collision with Stephen Hunt of Reading. Until his very last game as a professional footballer, the Europa League final between Arsenal and Chelsea (1-4) in 2019, the Czech goalkeeper always wore a helmet. At the time, Cech took the time to provide Mason with the necessary advice. “I can only praise Petr Cech. He has set the standard for how a real one gentleman should behave, “the unlucky fancier said eight months after his life was hanging by a thread in an interview with talkSPORT. “Immediately after the incident with Cahill, Petr called my family and my fiancé and then explained how everything was going to work out and that everything was going to be fine when I couldn’t talk anymore, couldn’t stand light and things like that.”
Mason was eager to speak to Cech himself and two months after the collision with Cahill, the midfielder and the goalkeeper faced each other for the first time. “He stepped into the room, sat down on the couch and said, ‘sit quietly, don’t say anything, just listen,’ and then he spoke for an hour and a half,” Mason recalled his first meeting with the then still active closing post for Chelsea. “I did not say anything and when Petr left again, my girlfriend immediately said, ‘Wow, the things we were worried about …’. Petr’s words really put us at ease. We have had a lot of contact since that conversation. stops by often and we call regularly. He gave me so much strength, he really had a positive impact. I hope no one ever goes through this again, but when it does, I will be there for them like Petr was there for me. ”
Four months after the interview with talkSPORT, which took place in October 2017, the brave Mason had a comeback at Hull, however. Despite intensive treatments from various neurologists, the doctors came to a unanimous conclusion: playing football at a professional level is no longer an option and can even be dangerous for Mason’s health. He then decided to announce his retirement as a professional football player. “I have worked very hard to ever be on the field again. After urgent advice from the medical experts, however, I see no choice but to stop playing football. Given the nature of the injury, the risk has simply become too great.” For Mason, a great dream fell apart, although despite the devastating message from the doctors, he did not end up in the well-known black hole. The Englishman returned to his great love Tottenham as a youth coach in April 2018, two months after his retirement as a player. He turned out to be a coach, because the technical management promoted him to coach of the UEFA Youth League playing under 19 team a year later. In August 2020, the club’s child was offered the job of head of player development. Eight months later, a week before Tottenham face Manchester City in the EFL Cup final, the board even entrusted him with the position of interim manager.
Ryan Mason, seated far left, ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League game against Borussia Dortmund in 2016.
The serious head injury and the premature end of his career have broadened Mason’s view in recent years. The Tottenham intermediate pope came in early 2019 with the call to restrict the heading of the ball in the youth teams. At all costs, Mason wants to prevent more players from being hit by a serious head injury in the future. “If you let a seven or eight-year-old head a hard ball away, and the brain and the bones in his skull are not yet fully developed, it could potentially cause damage,” the warning said in an interview with the police. BBC. “I look at some kids and they head the ball with the top of the head and their technique is all wrong. That’s why the pressure it puts on the brain is much greater. That’s why I think young kids shouldn’t be heading real balls. . ” In the same interview, Mason immediately presented a solution to tackle the problem of hard balls in youth academies. “Maybe it would be wise to start using sponge balls to learn the technique of heading and gain the necessary experience in heading duels. I don’t think repeated heading at a young age will do the kids any good.” Mason also believes the FA can do much more to protect top-level players. “For me it is quite easy to spot a concussion on a football field. If there is any doubt, a player should just be taken off the field immediately.”
Doctor of Hull City eternally grateful
“If you get hit on the head and there is a minor concussion, and you get hit to the head again shortly after, it can cause irreparable damage. And I think we can potentially protect players a lot more in that area. added the concerned Mason. The temporarily appointed Spurs manager can function fairly normally despite the unfortunate clash with Cahill, although the memory of that fatal January day in 2017 will never completely fade into the background. “I remember Chelsea taking a corner. I jumped to hit the ball hard and suddenly felt some kind of force going through my skull. It was the worst pain imaginable,” said Mason not long ago. in conversation with FourFourTwo. Strangely enough, he could still clearly recall the incident at Stamford Bridge. “I remember when the doctor ran into the field and did all the standard checks for a head injury. Your body goes into a natural state of panic and self-preservation when you get seriously hurt, it knows when something is terribly wrong. unbearable, it was as if a bomb had gone off in my head. ” Mason is eternally grateful to Hull’s doctor. ”The ambulance driver headed for the nearest hospital, but the doctor said we had to go to St Mary’s. We even drove past two other hospitals to get there. Life saved. Had we gone to one of the nearest hospitals I would probably have had a scan and then been referred to St. Mary’s, which would have wasted precious time. ”
The days after the operation were completely devoted to recovery. Mason sometimes slept 20 to 22 hours a day, with the occasional doctor’s test as a break. It wasn’t until months later that he really realized how serious the situation was in the first days after the horror injury. “I have a total of 14 metal plates in my skull, with 28 screws to hold them in place. There were also 45 staples and a six-inch scar on my head. Removing the staples was definitely not a pleasant activity. now i feel it all there. i am aware of it all the time. ” Mason felt like he had to learn everything all over again, and he compared his situation to that of someone who had sat in front of the television for hours and then suddenly got up and became very dizzy. Even drinking something as simple as the Dutch juice turned out to be a daunting task. “That meant an awful lot to me. My wife and I even filmed it.” Mason, who could tolerate very little and sat at home in total darkness for weeks, nevertheless continued to fight for his survival as a professional footballer. A scan in February 2018 finally shattered that dream. “I was told that if I started to head balls again I could get dementia at the age of 28 or 29, and the danger of epilepsy was also lurking. They said it was a miracle that I had such a recovery, but also that starting play again could do even more damage. ” Mason was wise enough to put his professional life on the back burner.
Will Ryan Mason manage to bring Tottenham Hotspur first prize in thirteen years on Sunday?
A few years later, Mason has a new goal in mind: to conquer the EFL Cup, Tottenham’s first top prize since 2008. Thirteen years ago, the Spurs for a surprise by beating favorite Chelsea 1-2 in the final of what was then still called the League Cup. 2008 was also the year of Mason’s breakthrough in the main squad, after nearly a decade in several of the club’s youth teams. On November 27 of that year, in an away game against NEC in the group stage of the UEFA Cup, then manager Harry Redknapp awarded him his debut. Mason replaced David Bentley in the final minute of the meeting in De Goffert. However, a definitive breakthrough in the first team was not forthcoming and after rental periods at Yeovil Town, Doncaster Rovers, Millwall, the French Lorient and Swindon Town, the marriage between Tottenham and Mason came to an end in 2016. Almost five years later, Mourinho’s successor is back on the training field every day with old friends such as Harry Kane, Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld. England’s single international will be tasked with giving the so ambitious Tottenham on Sunday at Wembley at the expense of Manchester City the 27th prize in club history.