Tottenham boss Ryan Mason has narrated the agony he passed through during his recovery phase from a head injury he sustained back in 2016 which ended his playing career.
Mason, 29, was made interim head coach at Spurs for the remaining seven matches of the 2020/21 season after Jose Mourinho and his staff were sacked on Monday.
Mason’s appointment saw the former Hull City midfielder go into the record books as the youngest manager ever to coach a Premier League side.
While Spurs will be hoping to secure their first silverware in 13 years when they square off against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, attention would most likely be on the player, who came through the club’s academy.
Mason witnessed a short-lived career after being sidelined for over an extended period due to a head injury he picked up in a crunch Premier League tie against Chelsea five years ago.
“I made sure I left two tickets for my mum and dad at the ticket office,” Mason told Four Four Two. “I remember looking at the tickets, seeing that they were in the front row of the Hull end, and thinking that it would be amazing to run over there if I scored.
“The game started positively for us. I was up against N’Golo Kante and it was a good battle. There were a few crunching tackles, 50-50s, but nothing over the top. Then after 13 minutes, it happened.
“They had a corner. The ball came in, I jumped to head it clear, and suddenly I felt this force crashing through my skull. It was the worst pain imaginable.
“The pain was unbearable; it was like a bomb going off in my head, right on the temple.
“Our club doctor Mark Waller made some big decisions that shaped my recovery. He knew straight away I’d fractured my skull and there was potential for brain damage, because the whole right side of my face had dropped and was paralysed.
Mason continued: “I was sleeping for probably 20-22 hours a day. They would wake me up to do a few tests, check my blood pressure and so on, but most of the time I just had to sleep. Recovering from that kind of injury is hard work for the body. You need to pace yourself.
“I knew I had staples and metal plates in my head, though it wasn’t really until about six months later that the doctors sat me down to explain exactly what they had done. It was all so severe, they tried to avoid overwhelming me. I’m not sure if I could have taken that all in.
“In total, I have 14 metal plates in my skull, with 28 screws to hold them in place. There were 45 staples and a six-inch scar across my head, too. Picking the staples out definitely wasn’t pleasant.
“Even now I can feel it all there. I’m aware of it all the time. If others could feel what I feel they’d say, ‘Cor, I’ve got a really bad headache’, but it’s what I’m having to learn to live with constantly.
Mason made 70 appearances for Spurs over an eight-year spell and joined Hull City in 2016, where he was forced to retire, aged just 26, after suffering a fractured skull in a contest with Gary Cahill.
He played alongside Kane, Erik Lamela, Son Heung-min, Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld, Ben Davies and Hugo Lloris, who all featured in his final game for Spurs back in May 2016.
Mason has been christened Pochettino’s protégé but, the English man says he is his own man.
