John Stones: From Retirement Thoughts to World Cup Joy

When England manager Thomas Tuchel called John Stones to tell him he'd made the World Cup squad, the 32-year-old defender couldn't contain himself like a kid getting his first call-up.

That reaction means even more when you know that just seven months ago, Stones was seriously considering hanging up his boots. After a string of injuries left him sidelined, the Manchester City defender spent time weighing whether to retire from the sport he loves.

"It was a difficult period when I said that, and I hope I don't get to that again," Stones told BBC Sport. The mental toll of repeated setbacks had him questioning why injuries kept happening to him when other players seemed to avoid them.

But Stones chose to fight back. He worked through the physical pain and the mental struggles, refusing to let injuries define the end of his career.

His path back wasn't easy. This past season, he played just 439 minutes of Premier League football and appeared in only 18 games for City across all competitions. He missed two months with a thigh injury and had to sit out England friendlies before squad selection due to a calf problem.

Yet Tuchel saw something in Stones that went beyond the injury report. The manager picked him ahead of Harry Maguire and Levi Colwill, calling Stones a "big part" of his plans with "a lot of credit in the bank."

Now Stones is set to start in England's World Cup opener against Croatia on Wednesday. It will be his sixth major tournament wearing the Three Lions, a remarkable achievement for someone who was contemplating retirement less than a year ago.

Why This Inspires

Stones says coming back from setbacks has become one of his greatest achievements. Not the trophies or caps, but the mental strength to keep pushing when everything seemed to be working against him.

His journey shows that success isn't always a straight line upward. Sometimes the most meaningful victories happen in our darkest moments when we choose to keep going.

"I feel like one of my greatest achievements is to keep coming back from those setbacks, no matter how big they are," Stones said. He's proven he can return to top form and perform at the highest level, even when his body and mind were telling him to give up.

Stones announced in April that he'll leave Manchester City this summer, closing one chapter while opening another. But for now, his focus is on representing his country on football's biggest stage, something he never takes for granted.

When Tuchel made that phone call, he didn't just see an experienced defender, he saw the pure joy of someone who remembers why they fell in love with the game in the first place.