The aerial collision with Gary Cahill is something Ryan Mason can recall all too vividly. 'It was like a bomb going off in my head,' he says.

But it was only five weeks ago, some three months after his accident at Stamford Bridge in January, that the full horror of what he endured was explained to him by the Hull City doctor.

'He said there was a moment shortly after I arrived at the hospital, I think maybe just after I'd had a CT scan, that I was what they call 'unresponsive',' says Mason.

Hull's Ryan Mason points to the right side of his head where he collided with Gary Cahill

Mason described the moment the pair of them came together as 'like a bomb going off'

The 25-year-old has also revealed he remembers the moment he suffered the head injury well

'They acted very quickly and within minutes I was in surgery. But that was a life-threatening situation and it was a shock to hear that. The doc, to be fair to him, had waited for the right moment to talk me through the accident and the operation. Any earlier and I don't think I would have had the capacity to deal with it.'

This is the Hull midfielder's first newspaper interview since a clash of heads that has left him with 14 metal plates on the right side of his skull and a scar, now concealed by his hair, that at one stage required 42 staples. A week ago, he says, he would not have had the strength to recall his experience with a journalist.

By Friday afternoon, however, he was in a hotel not far from his Hertfordshire home speaking both candidly and eloquently about an incident that had him worried he would be unable to return to anything resembling a normal life, never mind his career as a professional footballer.

This is Mason's first newspaper interview since the clash of heads that put him in hospital

I remember the cross, the header . . . then a feeling of pure fear

'It was a big impact,' he says. 'I fractured the skull and it shattered into quite a few pieces. The plates I've had inserted will be there permanently, along with the screws. There's a big scar under my hairline. The hair is growing back on that side now, although it's still a bit thinner there. But you wouldn't have recognised me 10 weeks ago. My head was huge because of the swelling and the bleeding I suffered on the brain.

'I fractured my eye socket as well. I had to have a bit of bone removed from there and the muscle down the side of my face had to be cut during the operation. That muscle then wasted away and now I'm chewing gum constantly to build it up again.

'For quite a while the muscle wasn't attached to the jaw. I couldn't even open my mouth for the first eight weeks, never mind get a full spoon of food in there. My fiancee Rachel was feeding me grains of rice. She has been amazing. For the first eight weeks she had to live in the house without the telly on, no noise, just nursing me. It was tough.'

Hair has started to grow back on the part of his head which was damaged by the collision

He owes so much, he says, to so many people but he knows the Hull City doctor, Mark Waller, made some critical decisions that day — not least when it came to taking Mason to the neurotrauma specialists at St Mary's in Paddington rather than the nearest hospital.

'We drove past two hospitals on the way in the ambulance,' says Mason. 'But the doc knew within seconds I'd fractured my skull and he also knew St Mary's was the best place to go. If we hadn't I probably would have been scanned and then moved there afterwards. As it was I was in surgery 61 minutes after the accident.

'I actually remember everything up until surgery. I remember the cross, the header, being on the pitch, the ambulance arriving.

'I think my thoughts were of pure fear in those seconds after the collision. A clash of heads is pretty common in football but the sheer impact of it was worrying, because it was in this temple area. It seems to be a softer part of the head. I remember being on the ground. It really did feel like a bomb had exploded in my head. It was so painful.

'The doctor explained that you go through these stages. At first on the pitch I was apparently quite aggressive. I didn't want anyone to touch me or go near my face.

He says he still remembers the cross coming in and going up to challenge for the ball

'Then after maybe 10 or 15 seconds he realised what I'd done because the right side of my face was paralysed. He was asking me to whistle and I couldn't do it.

'My mum and dad were at the game, sitting in the front row. And my mum joined the doc in the ambulance. I remember bits of the journey. I think there were speed bumps in Hyde Park. But I mostly remember the tone of the voices. I could tell they were worried. It was scary.

'The closer we got to the hospital, the more the pain started to subside. It was quite strange. And then I had this out-of-body experience. It may have been just after I came out of the scan and became unresponsive. But I was looking down at myself, running up this grassy hill with Rachel, two kids and a dog.'

The next thing he recalls is waking up from a three-hour operation, 'seeing some faces'. But what he had not realised until very recently was that Michael Dawson, his captain at Hull, had told the manager he would not be returning to Humberside after the game but would stay in London until he knew his close friend and team-mate was out of danger.

The midfielder was immediately tended to by his team-mates before medics got to him

The next thing he recalls after the incident was when he came round from an operation

My skull had shattered into several pieces. I could tell by people’s voices it was critical

Dawson spent the night with Mason's friends and family before returning to St Mary's the next morning, still dressed in his bright orange Hull tracksuit.

Mason was also unaware what the surgeon had told his parents, Glen and Lisa, before the operation. 'I wouldn't say 'touch and go' but there was a definite sense it was critical,' says Mason. 'Thankfully the surgeon was able to stop the bleeding on the brain relatively quickly and he then did a great job putting me back together. I've met him quite a few times now. Kevin Tsang is his name. He's been tremendous.'

Mason looks remarkably well, with a minimum of visible damage. But although he is delighted to have taken the first tentative steps this week towards a return to training, there remains some way to go before he can consider playing football again.

'I'm still dealing with fatigue,' he says. 'And if there's a lot of noise, a lot of conversations going on, I kind of hit a brick wall and need to leave and go sleep it off.

Mason says he does recall Michael Dawson staying overnight to make sure he was safe

'Being at the training ground for three days this week, I was aware what a noisy place that is. And when I went to watch us against Sunderland, I needed ear plugs to deal with the noise of the crowd. It was amazing going back to the stadium though. It gave me this tingly feeling.

'Everything is gradually improving and the doctors are pleased with my recovery. It's all part of a process that is completely normal for what I've been through.'

His balance was a major issue. 'It was really badly affected because I had suffered damage to the inner ear,' he says. 'For the first eight weeks it was like I was on a boat the whole time, feeling nauseous and unsteady. If I stood up I'd suddenly feel dizzy and need support.

'That took a bit of time to settle down. I've been in and out of London visiting a specialist ear clinic to deal with it. But they're happy with it now. To a member of the general public it would probably be considered perfectly fine now but to come back and play professional football . . . there's still a little way to go.

'What you realise is that your body is using so much energy to repair the injury, you don't have the strength for anything else. I was in hospital for eight days and when I came home I probably slept for 18 to 20 hours a day for the first four or five weeks. Breakfast would tire me out. Just getting up to sit at the table would be exhausting. I couldn't physically do anything.

He says he is still dealing with fatigue and can 'kind of hit a brick wall'

'I remember being able to butter a piece of toast again. Rachel and I actually celebrated. It felt like a huge step. But there would be times when I couldn't hold a conversation for more than a couple of minutes. I'd have to ask people to leave the house so I could rest.'

Among his visitors, however, was Petr Cech, the Arsenal goalkeeper who suffered a similarly serious head injury when he was at Chelsea.

'He's been brilliant,' says Mason. 'I think he left it a week after the accident happened and then he chased up Rachel and was in regular contact with her, reassuring her that what I was going through was normal.

'And then he came to see us about six or seven weeks ago and everything he was describing I could relate to. Our injuries were slightly different but the process of recovery was very much the same, and to hear it from someone who has been through it, come back and had the career he has had was very encouraging.

'He's been in regular contact and has been back to see me again, and his support has been really valuable for my whole family. I can't speak highly enough of him. He's a top man.'

Before Cech convinced him otherwise he did wonder if, at 25 with that one England cap, his days as a footballer were behind him.

'For the first five weeks I was like that, for sure,' he says. 'To begin with I just felt so blessed to still be alive. To be around my family. Then I was wondering whether I could get back to any form of normality. Whether I would be able to even walk to the shops.

Mason said: 'I was glad to be alive. Then I wanted to walk. Now I want to play'

I was glad to be alive. Then I wanted to walk. Now I want to play

'But when I did start watching TV again I put the football on, and it was then that I started thinking I wanted to play again. Prior to that, though, I was saying to Rachel that I wouldn't be able to play again. I couldn't imagine when it would be physically possible. How was I going to run around a football pitch when I was struggling to even walk up the stairs?'

This is a far more positive Mason sitting here now. An ebullient young man who says the experience has given him a much healthier perspective on life.

'When you're very close to having your life taken away from you it would be strange if that didn't have an effect on you,' he says.

'I like to think I've always appreciated what I've got. My family, my friends. But something like this makes you realise that they're actually what really matters.

'I think it's made me a happier person. Football can be a very up and down business but I think when I return the downs will affect me less.'

When does he think that will be? 'Until I'm back I really don't know what's going to happen,' he says. 'But the surgeon said there has to be a period of six months where there is no contact. I can't drive for six months either.

'I'll just take it step by step. I'm not even running yet. This week I've just been on the bike and doing bodyweight exercises. And Hull, who have been fantastic, have assigned one of the physios to me full time.'

His former colleagues at Tottenham have been hugely supportive too, as have Cahill, John Terry and the Chelsea players.

'The Spurs lads raised some money for the Headway Charity on my behalf, and when I'm strong enough I would like to get involved and help out,' he says. 'Being able to speak to someone who has had this kind of injury can be really important, as I know from Petr. It has helped to convince me that I will make a full recovery.'

For more information about the Headway Charity go to www.headway.org.uk