John Stones has recovered from an illness that has kept him confined to his room at England’s training base and declared him fully fit for Sunday’s game against Serbia, but the defender revealed an injury scare against Iceland could have led to him missing Euro 2024.
Stones fears he broke his right foot in the first minute of England’s friendly defeat last week and is struggling ahead of Gareth Southgate’s side’s season opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen. The Manchester City centre-back, vital to England’s hopes of bringing home the trophy, was also shaken after succumbing to illness on Wednesday, missing a day of training and being substituted at half-time in the team’s final warm-up match. Stones collided with Iceland forward Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson and his reaction in the moment was tinged with anxiety.
“At first I was worried about how it had happened and how he’d landed on his foot,” Stones said. “I knew it wasn’t my knee or ankle because of the way he landed. It felt like my big toe just went straight down and I thought ‘I’ve broken it’. I initially feared the worst. The scan showed that it was only a very minor injury, which was a relief.”
After a scan last Saturday gave the all-clear, Stones explained why he didn’t leave straight away: “If you’ve got a fracture, you go see a doctor, get some medicine, get some shots, whatever. [to get to the Euros] “I think that mindset of, ‘I don’t want to miss it,’ knowing my past injuries and how to deal with injuries mentally and having a positive mindset in that sense really helped me,” he said. “If I was feeling bad, I would have been ready to go and thankfully I wasn’t. I’m getting better every day.”
The 30-year-old Stones’ role for his fifth major tournament is even more important with England missing Harry Maguire with a calf injury, and the inexperienced Marc Guehi will partner Stones against Serbia, who will be keen to exploit any weaknesses in their defense.
Serbia will be hoping that Stones, who returned to training on Thursday, has not fully recovered from the illness. “I don’t know how long it’s been this bad for,” Stones said.
“It was a tough 36 hours. I hadn’t felt too well in the open training the day before, but I felt fine and thought it would pass. I ended up calling the doctor in the early hours of the morning after being up for a few hours, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
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Spending time in my room has been difficult. “I’ve felt very isolated, to be honest,” Stones says. “I’ve been sleeping. It’s been hard because I’ve been sweating hot and cold. I’ve been watching TV and talking to my family for most of the day and getting through it. Like everyone else, I’m trying to do some extra gym training to try and catch up. I’m feeling great and I’m looking forward to it.”
Stones tipped his City team-mate Phil Foden to be man of the tournament. “I think he’s a really good player,” he said. “Firstly, he’s smooth, he plays like he’s on the park. He’s brought so much to the game – goals, maturity, pressure. It’s been a great season for him and I’m sure he’ll bring that to the tournament.”
