How did Bronze play Euro 2025 with fractured tibia?

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5 days ago

Can a professional footballer play with a fractured leg?
Following Sunday's Euro 2025 final win over Spain, England defender Lucy Bronze revealed she had done just that, saying: "I actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia, but no-one knew."
Mum Diana Bronze said the Chelsea full-back suffered the injury in June but she still started all six of the Lionesses' games in Switzerland and was a key reason for their success.
"We've known all the time. We knew the medics had checked it, and they knew what they were doing," Diana Bronze told BBC Radio 4's Women's Hour.
"I think a lot of the girls knew and not a whisper got out."
What is a tibia fracture?
Dr Mark Bowditch, President of the British Orthopaedic Association told BBC Sport that a tibia is, "the shin bone and the main weight bearing bone from the knee to the ankle".
"Fractures of the tibia range from partial break, such as a stress or fatigue split, through to a complete break and separation," the consultant knee and sports surgeon added.
"A complete break is the high-energy sudden injury from a fall from a height, twist or direct blow, such as a studs-up tackle. You cannot continue to play on or even walk on a complete break.
"Stress/fatigue fractures - which is likely to be the type Lucy Bronze has - are low-energy repeated injury and usually seen in athletes or army personnel.
"They normally present with pain after activity, rather than a sudden incident."
Following Sunday's final, England manager Sarina Wiegman said that Bronze, "had some issues with her tibia so of course we tried to manage that".
Nick Worth, who was England men's under-21 team physiotherapist between 2000-2003, told BBC Sport that Wiegman's comments further corroborate the view that the defender's injury was a stress reaction, rather than a clean break.
But BBC Sport do not yet know the full extent of the injury.
How could Bronze play with a fracture?
The 33-year-old played 598 minutes across the tournament, with only Keira Walsh, Alex Greenwood and Hannah Hampton playing more for Wiegman's side.
Dr Bowditch called it, "remarkable" Bronze was able to play so much tournament football.
"She probably has had to reduce the amount of training she has done in between games or train in a low weight-bearing environment such as a swimming pool or anti-gravity trainer," he suggested.
"It's a great tribute to Dr Ritan Mehta and Lionesses medical team that they have managed to keep Lucy going."
Worth believes that Bronze's decision to play through her injury would have been based on a calculation of risk vs reward, made in collaboration with the Lionesses' medical team.
"No doubt she's been exceptionally brave, you can't underestimate the mentality and resilience to do that," he added. "But it must be a manageable injury to enable her to do that."
'She'll not let the pain get in the way'
Bronze's aunt, Julie Tough, told BBC 5 Live: "Lucy wouldn't damage her body but she'll play through pain if she thinks she's not going to do anything worse to it.
"She'll not let the pain get in the way."
Painkillers and anti-inflammatories may have helped Bronze manage her pain during games, as well as perhaps using different insoles in her boots to enable her to offload weight on the injured leg.
Bronze's mum Diane added: "The medics had checked it and they knew what they were doing, and so does she because she did a sports science degree."
"She reads research papers and things. She knows about injuries. That's how she can keep going."
The defender, who was England's oldest player at the tournament, managed 105 minutes in Sunday's showpiece final, before leaving the pitch in tears as she was forced off with a separate injury to her right knee.
Wiegman praised her attitude afterwards, saying: "The whole team has a great mentality but she has a crazy mentality, it's unbelievable."
Worth told BBC Sport that pain is experienced subjectively.
"What Lucy has shown is that bit extra - she's an exceptional individual, and not everyone would do that," he said.
"She knows her own body, and I have no doubt she would speak up if something isn't right."
During the quarter-final against Sweden, Bronze was shown on camera self-strapping support around her right leg during a break in play. Worth suggested that this is unlikely to be related to her fractured tibia.
What could Bronze's recovery look like?
It is difficult to say, without knowing the full extent of the injury.
Dr Bowditch told BBC Sport that the worst thing that could have happened was that, "the partial break progressed into a full break and the bone effectively snapped."
"This fortunately hasn't happened," he said. "It may need a prolonged time off to allow it to heal itself or she may need surgery to try to help the bone heal properly"
Worth suggested that Bronze should hopefully not face any long-term consequences after playing during the tournament, and the most important thing now will be rest.
While she will need to offload the tibia a little bit, Bronze should be able to continue with work in the gym and the pool, and that weight-bearing can help the healing.
"Bones heal in the lines of stress, so in a converse way, putting weight on a fracture at the right time can help with healing."
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
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