Manchester City defender John Stones will link up with England this week after missing most of the season with injury
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WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: John Stones of Manchester City prepares for a corner with Ruben Dias, Ederson and Josko Gvardiol during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Manchester City FC at Molineux on October 20, 2024 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: John Stones of Manchester City prepares for a corner with Ruben Dias, Ederson and Josko Gvardiol during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers FC and Manchester City FC at Molineux on October 20, 2024 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Shaun Brooks - CameraSport via Getty Images)
John Stones
England have announced that John Stones will join their training camp ahead of a World Cup qualifier and international friendly in the next fortnight. England boss Thomas Tuchel will get a look at Stones while the Manchester City defender 'continues his rehabilitation from injury' before matches with Andorra and Senegal.
Stones has been unavailable for City since pulling up in the opening minutes of their Champions League play-off second leg against Real Madrid in February. Across the season, he managed just six Premier League starts - coming off injured in two of those - and featured less for City in all competitions than Kyle Walker, who missed six games before leaving for AC Milan in the January transfer window.
Pep Guardiola revealed during the season that he was still angry with the FA over how they had treated Stones before City's Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid in 2024. "I was never so angry than in that moment. Never before was I so disappointed," he said.
"It was a friendly game and we were playing quarter-finals against Real Madrid and in the Premier League to try to win it. It was a friendly game [with England], so for players to come back injured... I didn't like it at all."
Stones would go on to play every minute for England at the European Championship last summer as they made the final, but picked up an injury at the end of October that derailed his entire campaign for City. He ended up missing 32 of their 59 matches and was the only player not to be fit by the end of the season.
With so much time and effort from City gone into getting Stones back from injury, they will be cautious about his involvement in England's training camp this week. Shortly after, City will jet out to the United States where they are looking to win FIFA's revamped version of the Club World Cup.
It is unclear yet whether Stones will be on the plane for the tournament, although City are treating the trip as an official pre-season with efforts being made to ensure new signings are done over the next ten days to ensure they are available for it.
Guardiola has reiterated that a priority in his squad next season will be players who can stand up to the physical workload of playing three games a week for a prolonged period of time, raising questions about whether Stones will stay.
The 31-year-old has shown his immense talent when he does play, but City haven't seen enough of him on the pitch and his contract is heading into its final 12 months.
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