GARY MABBUTT knows exactly what Ryan Mason is going through – and admitted he feared the worst when he watched the Hull player suffer his sickening injury.
Mason is recovering in hospital after he fractured his skull in a horror 50-50 with Chelsea’s Gary Cahill during the Blues 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
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He required oxygen and was taken off on a stretcher after 14 minutes of the game before being taken to St Mary’s Hospital in London by ambulance.
And former Spurs and England star Mabbutt, 55, had the same thing happen to him in 1993 in a challenge with Wimbledon’s John Fashanu.
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Spurs captain at the time, the midfielder was rushed to hospital after the accidental elbow by Fashanu and was operated on immediately, causing him to miss months of action.
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And as Mabbutt watched the drama unfold and the medics rush on, he knew it was a bad one and made him remember his own career-threatening injury.
In an interview with Tom Latchem on talkSport Extra Time, Mabbutt said: “It was a sickening clash of heads and a complete accident but I knew as soon as I saw it there would be serious consequences.
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“Fortunately the treatment he received was exemplary and will have given Ryan a great opportunity of making a full and speedy recovery.
“What’s important is you can’t rush your recovery. Like myself, Ryan will be given a timescale for his recuperation.
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“You then slowly recover and when you’re given the green light to solely get back into training it’s
then up to you to overcome any situation that might have arisen due to the injury.”
And Mabbutt knows exactly what Mason will have to go through to restore his confidence once he resumes his playing career – as he appears to be on the mend after undergoing emergency surgery.
But they head into the second of their EFL Cup semi-final against Manchester United, boss Marco Silva has revealed that early indications are that Mason will be able to resume his career.
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He urged the ex-Spurs player to take his time – but as someone who knows Mason well, Mabbutt believes the Tigers’ midfielder will come back stronger.
He added: “I used to sit at home with a soft sponge ball and get confident about heading the ball again.
“I think it was about two months later I was able to get back into training. But every injury is different.
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“Everyone is keeping their fingers crossed that the speed his treatment took place would hopefully have given Ryan the opportunity of a speedy recovery.
“I didn’t feel fear going back but it’s down to every individual. I wanted to get back as soon as I could.
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“When you come back into training, the first couple of challenges there will be an ‘Ooh’ from the other players – but Ryan has always had a strong desire to achieve.
“In his time at Tottenham he had a number of setbacks – injuries and he went on loan on four or five occasions before he broke into the first team.
“And knowing Ryan as I do, I think he will come back from this and as soon as he’s given that green light, hopefully he will make a full recovery and be back as soon as possible.
“He will know from when we knew each other through Tottenham what I went through and when things calm down I will certainly be looking to make contact.”
You can listen to Tom Latchem’s full interview with Gary Mabbutt on talkSPORT Extra Time on Friday night from 1am. You can listen HERE