“It was a real rough 36 hours” – John Stones reveals all on illness scare ahead of England’s Euro 2024 opener | OneFootball

Manchester City’s John Stones has gone into detail on the illness that provided both himself and Gareth Southgate with a potential scare on the eve of Euro 2024.

Stones comes into this summer’s tournament with plenty to prove having endured a challenging season with Manchester City during the last campaign, failing to produce consistent performances to the level of the previous campaign.

The 30-year-old centre-back established himself as one of the present day Manchester City side’s most crucial players during the previous season, taking on the role of inverted full-back and standing alongside Rodri in defensive midfield during the Treble run-in.

However, after a difficult 2023/24 season, a new challenge emerges this summer and grants John Stones the opportunity of redemption to star in a European Championships campaign with England.

Speaking to the media in a pre-match conference ahead of the clash with Serbia on Sunday evening, John Stones revealed the “rough 36 hours” he had to endure through illness that forced an absence from training earlier this week.

“I haven’t been that bad in… I couldn’t tell you how long,” Stones admitted. “I am not getting into detail. It was a real rough 36 hours. I didn’t feel great the day before in the open session but felt good enough and thought it would just pass and ended up ringing the doctor in early hours of the morning after being up for a few hours and couldn’t take it any more.”

He continued, “I felt quite alone to be honest, which you might not at home – no one around you and then being stuck in your room all day, no food, not much water because it was coming out again. It kind of puts into perspective, of health in general, how lucky I am over the years.

“I don’t get ill or sickness. I think it was a good time, if it was ever going to happen, during this week and I got back out on Thursday. It could have been from anything. I have not really thought about it in that way, I am just glad to be over it.

“I was in my room the whole time. I only saw the doctor. I managed to eat the next day, when I was in my room, late at night (on Wednesday). It was over quickly and it could have been a lot worse than what it was and I was glad to get through training on Thursday.”

Following illness and injury sustained in the defeat to Iceland pre-tournament, John Stones now appears set for tournament action this summer, and will be hoping to get England off to a flying start this weekend.

Serbia will present England with a stern challenge this weekend and hope to spoil the Three Lions’ early tournament hopes with a victory of their own, as they look to mount a challenge of making the knock-out stages ahead of Slovenia and Denmark.