Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason has admitted that he has been left 'frustrated' on his return from a fractured skull, but hopes that the end of his rehabilitation process is now in sight.
The 26-year-old collided with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill during a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge in January and has not been back on the field since.
Mason feels physically fit but accepts that he cannot make a return to competitive action until given the all-clear by medics, having suffered bleeding on the brain in the incident that left him unable to walk for several months afterwards.
Providing a further update on his 11-month layoff, the one-cap England international told Sky Sports News: "Physically I'm fit. I'm just waiting for the skull to fuse together and heal. As soon as that happens, hopefully, I'm good to go and return to the pitch.
"I'm at the stage where it's getting a little bit frustrating because I've been physically fit and ready to go for the last two or three months. The skull isn't ready though and I have to respect that. It's a bit of a waiting game at the moment but I'm optimistic I'll be back playing soon.
"It's so difficult to put a timeframe on it. It's such a unique injury that nobody really knows how it's going to heal. At some point in the new year I'm going to have another CT scan. Hopefully then the signs are good and it won't be too long before I'm back in. It's not something you can take risks with. It's quite an important part of the body so it's a waiting game but I'm optimistic."
Mason featured 16 times for Hull in the top flight last season before fracturing his skull, totalling close to 1,000 minutes.
