Ryan Mason announced his retirement from football on Tuesday, and Chelsea defender Gary Cahill has now sent him a heartfelt message.
The pair clashed heads at Stamford Bridge in January 2017, and as reported by BBC Sport, just over a year later, Mason has had to call time on his playing career as a result.
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Given the severity of the injury, which saw him require oxygen on the pitch and undergo surgery, it’s important that Mason has ultimately made a recovery and is now sensibly avoiding the risk of sustaining any further damage as he has taken medical advice and reached the right decision.
However, Cahill has revealed that he is “devastated” after hearing the news that Mason has been forced to hang up his boots as a result, with their clash last year seen in the video below along with the Chelsea star’s tweet to Mason.
It remains to be seen what the 26-year-old chooses to do next, but he now retires from playing professionally with 171 appearances to his name during spells with Hull, Tottenham as well as several loan stints in the lower leagues.
As for Cahill, it will undoubtedly be difficult for him too having been involved in the incident, but it’s a classy move from the Chelsea man below as he will surely have reached out to Mason privately too.
Devastated to hear today’s news from Ryan. Competing for a corner is something we’ve done thousands of times and to see those consequences for a top professional like Ryan is heartbreaking. Sending all my love to him and his family, and wishing him the best for the future.
— Gary Cahill (@GaryJCahill) February 13, 2018
Cahill hits Mason pic.twitter.com/JATZouNv3t
— Axel-SMITH (@FantaskickAxel) January 23, 2017