Stones goes from brink of retirement to World Cup ‘pure joy’

John Stones’ selection in England’s World Cup squad raised some eyebrows – and the man himself may have been surprised had he been told at his lowest ebb that his country would still be needing him.

Stones says he had to “dig deep” to come through one of the most challenging periods of his career before securing his place in the 26-player group.

The 32-year-old is in line to start in England’s tournament opener against Croatia on Wednesday despite revealing last October he spent some time considering retirement after a string of injuries.

Stones is highly regarded by manager Thomas Tuchel and could be a fixture in the World Cup side if he can stay fit, which has not been a given in recent years.

“It was a difficult period when I said that [about retiring] and I hope I don’t get to that again,” Stones told BBC Sport.

“We can all compare ourselves to all the people or different players, different eras and think about how their journey was or how it could have been different and I am a culprit of that – ‘why are these things happening to me? It doesn’t happen to other people’.

“And I really had to dig deep and I am proud of myself for being so mentally strong throughout and coming out the other end of those scenarios or situations.

“I feel like one of my greatest achievements is to keep coming back from those setbacks, no matter how big they are and being on top form and going back into games and playing at such a high level.”

Stones started alongside Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa in England’s latest friendly and could be given the nod ahead of Manchester City team-mate Marc Guehi for the Croatia game (Wednesday, 21:00 BST).

Stones played just 439 minutes of Premier League football in the season just ended, featuring in only 18 games for City across all competitions.

He missed two months with a thigh injury and had to sit out England’s two friendly matches before Tuchel picked his squad because of a calf injury.

But Stones, who announced in April he will leave City this summer, says he has been “fit, pretty much all season”.

Tuchel gave his backing to Stones, picking him ahead of Harry Maguire and Levi Colwill, by saying he remains a “big part” of his plans and has “a lot of credit in the bank”.

This will be Stones’ sixth major tournament for England, having helped the side to reach the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the two previous World Cups.

“I love being here and I think that goes without saying,” Stones said.

“But when I got the call off of the manager, I think he saw the kid inside of me, how I reacted it where I couldn’t really control myself.

“It was like the first time, just pure joy coming out of me, and I think that is one of the qualities that he loves – how all of this group can be ourselves as players.”