Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones admitted that he expressed sympathy for Mason Mount and Luke Shaw and acknowledged the tough times they continued to suffer.
Jones, whose career has been severely hampered by long-term fitness problems, admitted that he had been “embarrassed” by his injury setback at Old Trafford.
Both Mount and Shaw have been eliminated since early December, with the former involving hamstring issues and the latter suffering from calf injuries.
Mount has missed 51 games since arriving at Chelsea from Chelsea in 2022.
Meanwhile, Shaw signed from Southampton for £27m in 2014, spending more time on the injury roster than on Manchester United stadium.
Jones was forced to retire in 2023 at the age of 31 after battling a 12-year career with Old Trafford. He said he understands the psychological and emotional damage of this setback, especially when criticized by fans on social media.
“I’m so sorry for Mason and Luke,” Jones said. “I know exactly how they feel. It’s almost an awkward feeling for me because you’re at Man United, the largest club in the world, and all you want to do is play football.
🚨🚨🎙️|Phil Jones leaves Manchester United Whatsapp Group:
He smiled and said, “You’ve been in WhatsApp (group) for years, joke, sending people photos and all kinds of people, you’ll have a day out in the wild.”
“I remember sitting in the bedroom and being like: ‘Man, it’s… pic.twitter.com/ZVQF92RHQ0
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“I love playing football. For any other reason, I don’t do that, I just like playing football like a kid and when you can’t do something, you take something away from you.
“It’s hard to deal with. You have fans, you have social media, so I can definitely sympathize with them [Mount and Shaw]. ”
Despite the increasing pressure on fans to return, Jones stressed that injured players must make sure they are physically and mentally prepared before making a comeback.
In particular, Xiao struggled last season in the 2024 European Cup but still faced scrutiny after the 2024 European Cup.
“What I’m going to say is that they have to go back to a state of comfort,” Jones added.
“The medical staff these days will always try to promote you to get you back soon, but they have to feel right on their own and have the confidence that they are ready to come back and play and compete at a high level.
“So, I absolutely sympathize with them. It’s a very, very scary place.”
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