John Stones (Image: Getty)
John Stones, the Manchester City defender, has candidly spoken about the "lonely dark days" that led him to question his future in football. The 31-year-old missed a significant part of last season, including the final three months, due to injury and is still managing his recovery during the Club World Cup.
Although not expected to start games in the United States, Stones is training well, improving his fitness, and will be ready for the Premier League's kick-off in August. His recent misfortunes have been a recurring theme, as one of England's finest defenders has faced numerous setbacks despite winning a plethora of trophies at the Etihad.
Stones now claims to be in "great shape", but he opened up about the frustrations of his past season and the mental toughness required to overcome self-doubt.
England's centre half confessed: "There's been points where you think: 'you've been giving all this effort, you dedicate all your life, especially how I approach or go about my life, and football, I give everything, on and off the pitch to be here or be ready to play games and those are the dark days.
"I think everyone's been through them and think, 'why is this happening?' You wish it would have gone on a different path, but like I said, it's self-doubt, there's a lot of things."
"All of us have been through different upbringings and challenges through life and what did we do within those situations, was it to fight or was it to give up?
"I was always a fighter from a young age, in difficult moments, you have to look at the bigger picture and realise what are your morals, what you believe in, and fight to make it worthwhile.
"I think we all self-doubt as players and feel things and we want to get back as quick as possible, maybe that's a downfall sometimes that you try and push too soon.
"What helps me? Definitely family, I think that's my biggest thing, being around them and having their support."
He describes the loneliness of working out alone due to injury, highlighting the stark contrast to the camaraderie of team sport. "You can feel very lonely at times when you're training by yourself and that's the difficult part of it, being in a team sport, not training with the team when you run out of the pitch in your rehab.
"So a lot of things that you've got to get used to and deal with and try and set yourself goals to come back and it's been a challenge. I am over that hurdle."
His grit notwithstanding, Stones faced a major setback as a thigh issue plagued his last season, despite helping England reach the Euro 2024 final.
Unfortunately, recurring injuries have blighted Stones' recent seasons, prompting detailed discussions with City's medical team to address and conquer these setbacks.
He expressed his frustration, saying: "I wish I had the answer and we all have the answer, it is frustrating for me, I put a lot of pressure on myself.
"I find it very challenging mentally, I have had some very low points in the past season and I just have to come back and once you come over those things, you can't really see the end of the tunnel when they keep happening.
"And it's frustrating on the team, on myself, on the manager, that you're not available to help them, and you've got to find another way to be around the team.
"I don't know what the reason is, and we've sat with the medical staff, sports science, to try and figure out why. Some things can't be explained. Which is even more testing mentally when there's not really an answer.
"I've been unlucky with some of the injuries that I've had, they were very rare last season, after speaking to specialists. Sometimes I think, why has it happened to me? But I've got to deal with that and move forward and try to adapt with how my body's adapting.
"As I said, I feel great, I'm back fit, ready to help the team when called upon. I think this season I've got to look more detailed into training, things that I can do off the pitch that I can sustain playing a lot more games."