- It is little more than 12 months since Ryan Mason fractured his skull in clash
- Chelsea club sources say Gary Cahill is ‘devastated and down’ about the incident
- The Blues face Hull on Friday in the FA Cup fifth round with Cahill set to play
- The injury sustained from the clash with Cahill has led to Mason retiring
Chelsea face Hull on Friday with the harrowing events of their last meeting still fresh in the memory.
It is little more than 12 months since Ryan Mason fractured his skull in a clash of heads with Gary Cahill, an injury which the 26-year-old Tigers midfielder announced this week has ended his career.
Chelsea captain Cahill is set to play in the tie at Stamford Bridge, despite club sources saying he is ‘devastated and down’.
Chelsea captain Gary Cahill (c) is set to play against Hull in the FA Cup fifth round on Friday
His manager Antonio Conte has not enquired if he is ready to play — ‘there is no problem’, he said. But his thoughts will inevitably stray back to that night in January last year.
Mason will not be at Friday’s game, which comes too soon after a stressful and emotional week. Last year his parents, Chelsea season-ticket holders, were rushing from their seats to be by his side.
Chelsea have given an open invitation to the family to return to Stamford Bridge at a later date.
‘We are very sad for this bad news,’ manager Conte said. ‘The players and the club wish him and his family the best for the present, the best for the future.’
But he will have no qualms about fielding Cahill on Friday. ‘This type of situation can happen. I was a player and I understand it,’ the Italian added.
‘My team-mate broke my leg when I was 16 and risked my whole career. But it was an unlucky situation. Gary is a fantastic guy, a fantastic person. He must be OK because it’s not his fault. I didn’t speak with him. I think that, if I have to go to speak with him, it means there is a problem. I don’t see a problem.’
It’s little more than 12 months since Ryan Mason fractured his skull in clash of heads with Cahill
Mason was forced to announce his retirement from football on Tuesday following the clash
Chelsea are expected to make big changes with Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Barcelona in mind.
Tiemoue Bakayoko, David Luiz and Ross Barkley miss out with injuries but Alvaro Morata will get some playing time to prepare the returning No 9 to start at the Nou Camp in midweek.
Playing on a Friday represents a rare scheduling advantage for an English club over foreign rivals — the Spanish league leaders play away at Eibar on Saturday.
But for Conte, the calendar still isn’t helpful enough. ‘I think to play on Friday is good for us,’ he said.
‘But if we were lucky to play on Friday, we were very unlucky to have this schedule between the two Barcelona games: [Manchester] United, City.’