LONDON -- Mauricio Pochettino and his staff will visit Ryan Mason in hospital on Thursday and the Tottenham Hotspur manager says the midfielder is a "special player," who is loved at Spurs.
Mason suffered a fractured skull after a clash of heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill on Saturday and he is recovering in London's St. Mary's hospital after surgery. Hull City's latest update said the midfielder, 25, is making 'excellent progress.'
The Tottenham academy graduate was given his Premier League debut by Pochettino in September 2014, shortly after the manager's arrival at the club, but he joined Hull in the summer after an injury-hit 2015-16 campaign.
Pochettino and his squad were in Barcelona from Sunday to Wednesday for training and says he watched Hull's match at Stamford Bridge, a 2-0 win for Chelsea.
��️ "We will see him this afternoon, give a big hug and show our love" - Mauricio revealed he plans to visit @RyanMason in hospital today... pic.twitter.com/fYxk91l4nt
- Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 26, 2017
"We were in Barcelona on Sunday watching the game and we saw the situation live. We kept in touch with his family, his girlfriend Rachel and it was a difficult moment," Pochettino told a news conference on Thursday.
"We were very worried about the action, like all the people that know him. The action was very hard and difficult but the good thing now is that he's recovering well, making a lot of progress. We will go after the press conference to visit him and see how he is doing.
"Me, [assistant manager] Jesus [Perez] & [head of coaching and player development] John McDermott will go. We arrived late from Barcelona yesterday -- it was impossible [to go] -- but now we have the possibility. It will be fantastic. I think some players will go, I didn't ask, but some are in touch with his family, his dad, his girlfriend. The squad sent a video from Barcelona. He is a special player for us. He grew up in Tottenham. He is a person we love.
"I have been in contact with his family and all the staff too. I know that he is making some progress, he is much better," Pochettino added. "Now we'll see him in one or two hours and it's important to know how he is and share some time with him. It will be fantastic for us.
"He is very strong, one of his strengths is mental strength -- mentality, his personality. He suffered a lot of injuries in the past and it's true that he can show that he can recover as soon as possible. He has people around, family, that help him, and of course us, to try to push him to recover as soon as possible."