Football
Dan Kilpatrick, Tottenham Correspondent 6y

Ryan Mason returns to Spurs to work on coaching badges after retirement

Former Tottenham Hotspur player Ryan Mason has returned to the club to begin work on his coaching badges after retiring as a player in February, but remains uncertain about what he wants to do long-term.

Mason retired at the age of 26 after suffering a fractured skull while playing for Hull City at Chelsea in January last year.

He has spent the last two weeks at Hotspur Way, Spurs' Enfield training base, coaching the club's under-23s, while he has also appeared as a television pundit since his injury.

"I'm happy, that's the most important thing," Mason told Spurs' official website. "I'm alive and I'm happy.

"It's a whole new challenge that I'm stepping into now -- I've done bits of media, I'm doing coaching, it's just the next step in my career.

"To be honest I was hoping it would be at 35 or 36 years old but I'm 26, it's happened, I've got a head start on everyone and I'm keen to make the most of the next 10 years.

"I've always been positive throughout the whole injury. That's the reality. It's the best way to be -- positive. I'm excited for the future now."

Mason joined Spurs as a seven-year-old and made 70 senior appearances under Mauricio Pochettino, scoring four times, before signing for Hull in 2016.

"I've been in a couple of weeks now and it's a great thing to be starting the next chapter," he added.

"I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where the club have offered their help, so it was a no-brainer to come back in and at the same time get cracking with my badges.

"At the moment I'm just observing as much as I can. I've joined in with little bits and taken little bits as well. I'm doing work with the young boys, with the reserves [U23s], with everyone, so I can hopefully pass on my knowledge and help them out.

"I don't know where I want to go with it yet. If you were to say would I be a manager, I don't know. I don't know whether I want to stay coaching kids.

"It's just a case of coming in, finding the path and seeing where I want to go with it all but I'm loving it, I'm loving being back out there and being involved with football -- especially here as well because it's all I've known for so long. It's good to be back home.

"As a player, I was always keen on helping the young lads. I had a unique situation of coming through the Academy into the first team and I was always keen to speak to the young boys at the club and try to help them make that step.

"I'm just looking forward to hopefully helping people make that next step and become Premier League players."

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