Silva: Players will fight for Mason

Hull manager Marco Silva has urged his player to draw inspiration from midfielder Ryan Mason as they prepare to host Manchester United in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg.

The Tigers will be looking to overturn a two-goal deficit when United visit the KCOM Stadium on Thursday evening but their preparations have been affected by the Mason's plight.

The 25-year-old remains in hospital in London after he recovers from surgery on the fractured skull he sustained in a clash of heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill in his side's 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge.

Silva admits the injury has hit his players hard but he is hoping they can deliver a strong performance for their team-match on Thursday.

“It has not been an easy moment for our squad, but we need to be strong in this moment and to fight for Ryan,” Silva told his pre-match press conference.

“The player continues to make good progress and that is the most important thing. He’s in good spirits, at this moment, the most important thing is I support the player, support his family. We have to stick together as a group of players and support Ryan.

“I don’t know how long he will be staying in hospital, but, really, that is not the most important thing. I will go to see him in hospital after the [Fulham] game on Saturday.

“It was very difficult after the game [on Sunday], everything happened too fast and we had staff with him, but I will go to see him on Saturday.

“From what my players have shown me this week, they will be strong and there will be a good atmosphere inside the dressing room. We are playing for our fans, for ourselves and of course for Ryan.

"The support from the football world has been fantastic. Rivalries are put aside, everything is forgotten because the most important thing is the player, the man.”

It is unclear how long Mason will be sidelined for but Silva has revealed he will have little choice but to bring in a new midfielder before deadline day.

“For me, it is not easy to talk about transfers,” Silva added. “But it is a special situation. Ryan is an extremely important player for me and we need to do some more work in the transfer window.

“With Jake Livermore leaving we are a little bit light in midfield, it’s clear we have to try and get players in that position.”

eir Sport channels are available across the eir Vision, Sky and Vodafone TV platforms as well as on the eir Sport app. All 6 channels in the eir Sport pack are available for free if you are a residential eir broadband customer.