Ryan Mason has spoken out for the first time since his horrific fractured skull injury

Ryan Mason has said that he feels "lucky to be alive" after suffering his horrific head injury against Chelsea 10 days ago.

The Hull midfielder had to undergo brain surgery and spent more than a week in hospital after clashing heads with Gary Cahill in their 2-0 defeat at the Bridge.

Image: Richard Heathcote / Getty

The whole football world had Mason in their thoughts after it become apparent the injury was serious, with fans and players from all clubs throwing rivalries aside and coming together to wish him a full and speedy recovery. And now Mason has been able to respond to all those well-wishes in an Instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/BP7_GavFqfZ/ The post is a picture of him with "Thank You" embellished on it, and also includes a lengthy and emotional message directed at everyone who supported him. The message reads:

"I would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming support that has been shown to both me & my entire family over the past week or so. It has been an emotional rollercoaster and I feel lucky to be alive, but I'm happy to say that I'm now at home resting and recovering. "My fiancé & family have read so many messages of support to me over the past week. To have had so many people send messages to me, including from fellow players, clubs (in particular the support shown to me from both Hull City and Tottenham Hotspur), so many fans as well as the support I have received from the general public around the world has been completely overwhelming. "Each and every message of support really has given me strength and I cannot tell you how much it means to me. The love and support my Mum, Dad, sisters, fiancé Rachel and all of my friends and family have shown to me during what has been an extremely traumatic time for all involved has been incredible and I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for being there for me throughout. "Finally, I would like to say a special thank you too to all of the medical staff at Hull, as well as the medical team at Chelsea and of course the fantastic treatment and support I have received from all of the staff during my stay at St. Mary’s hospital. I will now be taking each day as it comes and concentrating on my recovery."

There's been no word yet on when Mason may be able to return to action for Hull, but right now, the most important thing is that he is out of hospital and on the road to recovery.