John Stones says resilience is his greatest achievement

John Stones, the 32-year-old former Manchester City defender, described his ability to bounce back from recurring injury setbacks as one of his greatest achievements. He was named in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for this summer's World Cup despite limited playing time for his club in recent seasons.

A hamstring injury in February last year cut short his 2024-25 campaign, and an earlier foot problem restricted him to 11 Premier League appearances. He missed two months of the 2025-26 season with a thigh issue and sat out England's friendlies against Uruguay and Japan in March due to a calf injury. Stones was limited to 18 appearances for Manchester City last season and revealed in October that he had considered retiring.

Thomas Tuchel trusted Stones with a place in the World Cup squad, and he started alongside Ezri Konsa in England's pre‑World Cup friendly against Costa Rica, displacing Manchester City teammate Marc Guehi. The defender could line up in England's World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday.

Stones has featured in five previous major tournaments, made his senior debut in a friendly win against Peru in 2014, and is poised to reach 90 caps. He announced in April that he will leave Manchester City at the end of the season.