England Defender John Stones Feared Foot Injury Days Before Euro 2024

John Stones faced a tense moment during England’s final warm-up game for Euro 2024, fearing he had broken his foot and might be ruled out of the tournament. The Manchester City defender, with 72 England caps, suffered an injury scare during England's 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley last week.

Stones, who started the match alongside Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi – his expected partner in England’s Euros opener against Serbia – was subbed off at half-time following a heavy knock early in the game. The injury raised immediate concerns about his availability for the tournament.

Reflecting on the incident, Stones admitted he was "worried" he had broken his foot, which would have severely impacted his Euros prospects. However, he was relieved to learn that his fears were unfounded, and he is "feeling really good" ahead of England’s opening Euro 2024 fixture on Sunday night.

"I was worried at first, just the mechanism of how it happened, how I landed on my foot," said the 30-year-old. "I knew it wasn’t my knee or my ankle, because of the mechanism in how I landed. It was almost like my big toe in the line straight down my foot and you think ‘I have fractured it.’"

Stones explained that initial thoughts of a fracture led to immediate concerns. "You think the worst at the start and we got some scans back and [it was] really minor stuff and came through it, which is great," he said. "I thought if I have fractured it, get the doctors, tablets, injections, whatever it is, I don’t want to miss out."

Fortunately, the scans showed minor issues, allowing Stones to quickly resume training. However, his preparations took another hit when he contracted a sickness bug shortly after arriving in Germany.

The six-time Premier League winner missed training earlier in the week and described feeling "quite alone" as he recovered in his hotel room. "I haven’t been that bad in… I couldn’t tell you how long. I am not getting into detail," Stones shared. "It was a real rough 36 hours."

Stones felt isolated during his illness, highlighting the difficulties of being unwell away from home. "I felt quite alone, to be honest, which you might not at home – no one around you and then being stuck in your room all day, no food, not much water because it was coming out again," he said.

Despite these setbacks, Stones was able to return to training and is now in good spirits. "I think it was a good time, if it was ever going to happen, during this week and I got back out on Thursday," he noted. "It could have been from anything. I have not really thought about it in that way, I am just glad to be over it."

Stones emphasized his readiness for the upcoming match against Serbia. "I feel great. Really good," he affirmed. "I have been topping up after training. I am on track with everyone else and am looking to do my extras to catch up on what I have missed out on and in the gym as well. I feel great physically. I am looking forward to it now."

As England aims to win their first major trophy in men's football since 1966, they will face Denmark and Slovenia in Group C after opening the tournament against Serbia. Stones’ recovery and readiness will be crucial for England’s success in Euro 2024.