ATLANTA — John Stones has admitted to going via “darkish days” throughout his harm nightmare final season however now match once more he says he is able to struggle for his place at Manchester Metropolis.
Stones missed 33 video games with harm final season and was restricted to simply six Premier League begins.
He was sidelined for the ultimate three months of the marketing campaign with a hamstring harm picked up towards Actual Madrid in February.
Stones has returned to full health forward of the Membership World Cup. He sat out Metropolis’s first sport towards Moroccan facet Wydad AC, however is in line to get minutes towards Emirati membership Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday.
“I am again match, really feel nice and I am excited to get going,” Stones mentioned.
“It is troublesome whenever you’re injured.
“There’s been factors the place you suppose, you’ve got been giving all this effort, you dedicate all of your life, particularly how I strategy or go about my life, and soccer, I give every little thing, on and off the pitch to be right here or be able to play video games and people are the darkish days.”
Stones was a key a part of the Metropolis staff which received the Champions League in 2023, typically moving into midfield from centre-back.
He was considered one of quite a few Metropolis defenders to endure accidents final season together with Manuel Akanji and Nathan Aké.
It was made worse for Stones final season that he needed to watch from the sidelines as Metropolis endured their worst season for a decade.
“It’s irritating for me,” he mentioned.
“I put quite a lot of stress on myself. I discover it very difficult mentally. I’ve had some very low factors prior to now season and I simply have to return again and when you come over these issues, you may’t actually see the top of the tunnel once they maintain occurring.
“It is irritating for the staff, for myself, for the supervisor, that you just’re not out there to assist them, and you have to discover one other method to be across the staff.”
Stones mentioned his accidents final season had been doubly irritating as a result of they might not be defined by Metropolis’s medical workers.
He added: “I do not know what the reason being, and we have sat with the medical workers, sports activities science, to attempt to work out why. Some issues cannot be defined.
“Which is much more testing mentally when there’s probably not a solution. I have been unfortunate with a few of the accidents that I’ve had, they had been very uncommon final season, after talking to specialists.
“Typically I believe, why has it occurred to me?”
Accidents performed a major half in Metropolis’s poor marketing campaign final season.
It led Guardiola to trace that he would solely embody gamers he may belief to be out there frequently in his squad going ahead.
It put Stones, who has endured harm issues all through his time on the Etihad Stadium, into the highlight. However the 31-year-old, who has a 12 months left on his contract, insists he’s staying at Metropolis this summer time regardless of hypothesis a couple of return to former membership Everton.
“I am right here, I need to keep right here, I like it,” he mentioned.
“I am right here to assist the staff, and I do not know if what’s been mentioned or speculated, however I hope that form of shuts it down.”
Talking in Atlanta forward of the sport towards Al Ain, Guardiola advised gamers must depart through the switch window as a result of he doesn’t need to work with a bloated squad.
He’s, although, trying ahead to having Stones out there once more after a troublesome season.
“What we wish from John is to be match,” mentioned the Metropolis boss.
“His beautiful job is enjoying soccer. It is the one factor we wish, the remainder — his expertise — his means, will do it. We will assist him and I am fairly certain he’s going to do the remainder.”
