Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason has revealed that he had an out-of-body experience while in the ambulance after fracturing his skull.
The 26-year-old suffered the injury in a collision with Chelsea's Gary Cahill in a Premier League encounter at Stamford Bridge on January 22.
Just 61 minutes after the accident, Mason went into surgery to treat bleeding on his brain, having 14 metal plates and 42 staples inserted into his skull by neurosurgeons at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington.
Recalling the incident in an interview with talkSPORT, the midfielder admitted that his injury was deemed one normally associated with car crash victims, and that the intervention of Hull's doctor in selecting the right hospital was crucial.
"I knew straight away it was a serious injury. I touched my head and there was nothing there but it felt like my skull was bleeding," Mason told Jim White. "I did panic because the pain was like something had gone off in my head.
"The Hull doctor, Mark Waller, came on and knew I had fractured my skull because the right side of my face was paralysed. I was blessed in that there were three or four hospitals all within 30 minutes of Stamford Bridge and it was important he picked the right one.
"He took me directly to St Mary's rather than the nearest because he knew I needed operating on. That decision was vital. It was 61 minutes from the accident to the operation. The bleeding on the brain was not long enough to cause serious damage and I think that is why I've recovered so well.
"I was still in my kit in the ambulance and had a bit of an out-of-body experience. It felt peaceful and the last thing I remember in the ambulance was an image of (Mason's partner) Rachel running on a hill with a dog and a little boy and girl.
"Looking back it was bizarre. She is six months pregnant now and I'm adamant we are going to have a girl because the girl in the image was bigger than the boy."
Despite the severity of the injury, Mason is optimistic that he will be able to resume his playing career in the near future.
