John Stones committed to Manchester City: ‘I want to stay here, I love it'

New York Times

4 hours ago

John Stones has committed his future to Manchester City after admitting he questioned whether there was a way back from some 'dark days' during an injury-ravaged season.
The England international defender is into his tenth season at Manchester City but foot and hamstring injuries plagued him last season.
Advertisement
It limited him to only 13 starts in all competitions and the influx of new defenders in the last two transfer windows led to speculation as to whether he could be allowed to leave before his contract expires next summer.
'I'm here, I want to stay here, I love it,' Stones said. 'I'm here to help the team. I don't know what's been said or speculated, but I hope that kind of shuts it down.'
Stones made several comebacks last season but each time his body broke down. The last time he made an appearance was in February when he started the second-leg of the Champions League play-off match against Real Madrid but only lasted eight minutes before going down again.
'There's been points where you think, you've been giving all this effort, you dedicate all your life, especially how I approach or go about my life, and football, I give everything, on and off the pitch to be here or be ready to play games and those are the dark days,' he said.
'I think everyone's been through them and think, 'Why is this happening?'. You wish it would go a different path, but like I said, it's self-doubt, there's a lot of things
'All of us have been through different upbringings and challenges through life and what did we do within those situations, was it fight or was it give up? I was a fighter from a young age, in difficult moments, you have to look at the bigger picture and realise what are your morals, what you believe in, and fight to make it worthwhile.'
Stones turned 31 last month and is now one of the most senior players with 277 appearances for the club.
He is an experienced international player but he found the difficulty of diagnosing and treating his injury problems mentally challenging.
'I don't know what the reason was and we've sat with the medical staff, sports science, to try and figure out why,' he said. 'Some things can't be explained, which is even more testing mentally when there's not really an answer.
Advertisement
'I've been unlucky with some of the injuries that I've had, they were very rare last season, after speaking to specialists. Sometimes I think, why has it happened to me? But I've got to deal with that and move forward and try to adapt with how my body's adapting.
'I think we all self-doubt as players and feel things and we want to get back as quick as possible.
'Maybe that's a downfall sometimes that you try to push too soon. Definitely family, I think that's my biggest thing, being around them and having their support. You can feel very lonely at times when you're training by yourself and that's the difficult part of it, being in a team sport, not training with the team when you run out of the pitch in your rehab.
'So a lot of things that you've got to get used to and deal with and try and set yourself goals to come back and it's been a challenge. I am over that hurdle.'
City have signed Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis, adding to a central defensive group that includes Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake.
Some players and managers have complained about the expanded Club World Cup adding more games to an already packed calendar but Stones is viewing it as an opportunity to re-assert himself.
'I feel great, I'm back fit, ready to help the team when called upon. I think this season I've got to look more detailed into training, things that I can do off the pitch that I can sustain playing a lot more games.
'It's difficult when you're injured, you almost work longer and more, so from that aspect I know the guys mentally and physically have had such a long season.
'I suppose mentally for me it's been difficult dealing with the injuries and the process, but now I've put that behind me and used this as a mini introduction back into before the new season and another trophy for us to hopefully win and get some game time.'