FOOTBALL: Former Swindon Town star Ryan Mason in hospital after fracturing his skull against Chelsea

FORMER Swindon Town footballer Ryan Mason is in a stable condition in hospital after suffering a fractured skull.

The Hull City midfielder has undergone surgery at St Mary’s Hospital in London following a sickening clash of heads with Gary Cahill during the first half of Sunday’s 2-0 Premier League defeat at Chelsea.

Mason is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days.

A Hull statement read: “The club can confirm that Ryan Mason sustained a skull fracture in our fixture at Chelsea this afternoon.

“He was taken to St Mary’s Hospital where he has undergone surgery. Ryan is in a stable condition and is expected to remain in hospital for the next few days.

“Everyone at the club would like to express their sincere thanks for the excellent and swift care given to Ryan by both the Accident and Emergency department and Neurosurgery Unit at St Mary’s Hospital.”

Both medical teams rushed to the scene as referee Neil Swarbrick stopped play.

Cahill quickly returned to his feet and readied himself to return to the action. He completed the game and scored Chelsea’s second goal.

Mason was in hospital by then, having received treatment for around six minutes on the field before departing on a stretcher, while receiving oxygen.

Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte said: “It was very bad this accident. Everyone at Chelsea, we hope to see him very soon on the pitch and to recover very soon.”

Players from across England and Europe used Twitter to send best wishes to the 25-year-old Mason, while the England team’s account posted a message reading: “Stay strong, Ryan” alongside a picture of him earning his sole England cap to date.

Mason’s first professional club, Tottenham, posted: “Everyone at the Club sends their best wishes to @RyanMason for a full and speedy recovery. Get well soon, Ryan.”

Mason was one of the original half-dozen Spurs players who joined Swindon Town before the 2013/14 season – along with the likes of Alex Pritchard and Massimo Luongo.

Their loans were as a result of the friendship between the club’s owner and chiarman Lee Power and Swindon’s current director of football Tim Sherwood who was then at Tottenham.

Their arrival set the blueprint for the style of possession football and fluent passing that Town still adopt today.

Mason made a total of just 24 appearances for Swindon, but was hampered by a series of injuries.

When fit he regularly showed his brilliance which later surfaced at Spurs when he broke into their Premier League the following season.

Mason, 25, was capped a number of times at youth level by England, with his only senior appearance coming in a friendly against Italy in March 2015, where he set up Andros Townsend’s late equaliser in a 1-1 draw.

He joined Hull in August last year after being frustrated by a lack of first-team football at Tottenham, where he came through the ranks.