John Stones has declared himself fully fit to take on Serbia on Sunday after recovering from a sickness bug that confined him to his room at England’s training base, but the defender has revealed he could have missed Euro 2024 because of his injury scare against Iceland.
Stones feared he had broken his right foot in the first minute of England’s friendly defeat last week and has been through the mill before Gareth Southgate’s side face Serbia in their opening game in Gelsenkirchen. The Manchester City centre-back, who is vital to his country’s hopes of bringing home the trophy, missed a day of training after succumbing to illness on Wednesday and fretted after being forced off at half-time in the team’s final warm-up match. Stones was involved in a collision with the Iceland forward Jón Dagur Thorsteinsson and his instant response was coloured by anxiety.
