Manchester City defender John Stones has confessed that he thought about ending his career last season after struggling with persistent injuries, SportPremi reports.
The 31-year-old was previously an integral member of Pep Guardiola’s squad, but has seen his minutes reduced in recent seasons due to his frequent injury worries.
The England defender was limited to just 11 appearances in the English Premier League last season, making only six starts.
In the current EPL campaign, he has only featured four times in seven matches and missed the Manchester derby last month after picking up a muscle injury.
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He has also not featured for England since October 2024 and despite being named in the squad for the September World Cup qualifiers, he was forced to pull out after suffering another injury in training.
However, the former Everton defender has earned a recall to Thomas Tuchel’s squad and is eyeing an improved performance as he hopes to stake a claim for a starting spot in the highly competitive squad.
The Three Lions face Wales in an international friendly match at Wembley on Thursday, before facing Latvia in a Group K World Cup qualifying match next week.
Stones reveals he contemplated early retirement
Since joining Manchester City from Everton in 2016, the England defender has not played more than 27 league matches in a season for the Cityzens due to several injury concerns.
Speaking while on international duty with the Three Lions squad as they prepare to battle Wales and Latvia, Stones opened up on battles with injuries.
“Last season was tough for me, to the point where I thought about stopping”, Stones revealed in an interview.
“I didn’t want to do it. I had had enough of being so professional and trying to do everything right in my power, to then keep breaking down and not having the answers. It was a very difficult place to be in.
There comes a point where you don’t know why it happens and it is even harder when you put in so much effort, or you are ultra professional, to be able to play and be available”, the England defender continued.
“When that time comes and something happens, it would be easier to say ‘well I didn’t do X, Y and Z that’s why’ – but when you do it, it’s then mentally challenging. Hopefully I don’t go back to that place.”
