Marco Silva says Hull City will play for Ryan Mason ahead of Manchester United clash

Hull City manager Marco Silva has called on his squad to "fight together and support" Ryan Mason and vows his side will play for the stricken midfielder when they face Manchester United in their EFL Cup semi-final second-leg on Thursday (26 January).

Mason suffered a fractured skull after clashing heads with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill during his side's 2-0 defeat by Antonio Conte's men on Sunday but has made excellent progress over the last couple of days.

The former Tottenham star is expected to remain in hospital over the next few days and Silva confirmed his teammates will visit him on Saturday ahead of their FA Cup fourth-round clash with Fulham.

"It is not easy for our squad, but we need to be strong together, fight together and support Ryan," Silva told The Hull Daily Mail. "We have a good atmosphere in the team but in these moments we play for our fans, for ourselves and for Ryan for sure.

"The response has been fantastic because it is important to support his family and the player together. In these moments we need to forget everything and concentrate on him.

"Nothing changed from yesterday, but he is in good spirits. We'll be going to see him when we go down on Saturday, it is not easy for him to get visitors but we will be there. For me it's not easy to put both things in the balance, he was a really important player for the team but we need to continue our work in the window. It is clear we are light in midfield."

Along with Mason, Silva revealed Curtis Davies and Robert Snodgrass will miss the clash with United on Thursday through injury. Davies and Snodgrass are currently out with hamstring problems.

The Scotland international may well have played his last game for the Humbersiders; Sky Sports claims Burnley have had a £10m bid for the 29-year-old accepted by the Tigers. Snodgrass, who is keen to leave the Premier League strugglers, is also attracting interest from West Ham United and Middlesbrough.