Phil Jones opens up on injury hell, criticism from Rio Ferdinand & 'losing his mind'
By Max Cooper
Manchester United outcast Phil Jones has opened up on his ongoing fight with a serious knee injury, the criticism he received from ex-Red Devil Rio Ferdinand and the persistent abuse aimed in his direction in a revealing interview.
The 29-year-old showed early promise in his career, but injury curtailed his progress, and he has not played for the Premier League giants since January 2020. He has become a lightning rod for abuse from supporters, particularly after signing a new contract with the club in 2019.
Jones has rarely spoken out over the unfortunate circumstances which have dictated his time at Old Trafford, but in an emotional interview with The Times, the former England international opened up on his struggles.
Here is a breakdown of Jones' frank interview.
Injury hell
Jones first admitted that he has been fighting a debilitating knee injury since his Blackburn Rovers days, which flared up at Man Utd at the beginning of his second season at the club. He suffered from severe meniscal damage, and was forced to have surgery on the knee.
However, the meniscus was so badly damaged that the surgeon was forced to remove it altogether, meaning his bones would rub together inside the joint. That caused serious pain when making sideways movements, and the issue eventually caught up with Jones.
āIād get swelling after training. Youād lay a ball off and any resistance against the knee was just agony. The merest nudge,ā Jones said.
āFor years Iād go into games thinking, āI shouldnāt really be playing,ā and players would look at me, see the swelling and be thinking, āHeās playing here?ā But I love playing and Iāll do anything for United. If I have to play at 60% and know I can get through it, then why not?ā
Another setback
The defender took the coronavirus lockdown and suspension of all football to rebuild himself, and by May 2020, when Man Utd returned to training, he felt 'in the best shape' he'd ever been in 'as a professional footballer'.
But on the second day of training, during a sprinting exercise, disaster struck. Jones completed a set of 'strides', āand then just couldnāt run, couldnāt pick my leg up to bend it. I just walked in.
āEveryone was saying, āWhatās he doing?ā Iād lost my mind completely. Iām thinking, āIām finished, canāt be bothered with all this any more.ā I went straight to the doc and said, āEnoughās enough. Iāve had too many anti-inflammatories, too many injections, too many close shaves. I need this sorted.āā
Surgery & rehab
After initial injections didn't resolve the issue, Jones underwent 'last resort micro-fracture surgery,' which involved drilling deep holes into the knee, hoping to create fibrous cartilage from the presence of blood.
Covid restrictions added months to Jones' recovery, extending delays between visits with his specialist in Barcelona, while the second and third lockdowns added to the mental and physical strain on the player.
āIt was the lowest Iāve ever been as a human being," Jones confessed. "I used to come back [from Unitedās training ground] and be in bits. My head was an absolute mess. Iād be in tears. Iād say to Kaya, āI donāt know what to do.ā I remember us both crying.
āThere were many times I felt an awful dad. Youāre trying to give your kids your energy but you canāt. Listen, youāve got daughters, if your daughter tells you youāre dressing up as a princess, youāre dressing up as a princess, but I just wasnāt there, wasnāt present in the moment. Iād be on my phone or miles away.
āIām not scared of saying any of this. People and footballers, theyāll put on a front that everythingās all right, but you donāt know whatās going on behind closed doors.ā
Criticism from Rio Ferdinand & Man Utd future
Jones' lack of impact on the Man Utd first team has seen him come in for plenty of abuse from supporters, but he's also been on the receiving end of criticism from a former teammate. Ferdinand branded him 'a waste of time' and accused him of blocking the path for a potential youngster to break into the first team. He was having none of it, though.
āListen, the respect Iāve got is enormous. Iāve shared a dressing room with Rio - great professional. Loved playing with him. Great lad, good humour. Learnt so much off him. But what he said was poor. Really poor. Iām not into disputes, not into arguments, and if he didnāt know [Jones was injured], he didnāt know.
āLook, Iām private, so maybe people donāt understand me, but thatās the total opposite to how I am. Iāve done my absolute utmost. From tablets, to my diet, to setting up my house so that every time I get back from training Iām sitting in recovery boots and have my ice machine ready. Nobody can say, āYou didnāt do enough.āā
In fact, Jones is feeling back to his best after the successful surgery, and he's ready to fight for his place at Man Utd.
āIt feels almost like Iāve started my career again,ā he said. āI feel young - not 29 but 25 or 26 - and because Iāve missed so much football I feel I have so much left in me.ā
āIāll fight for United until someone tells me, āGo somewhere else.āā
An easy target
Jones believes that he 'must be an easy target' for abuse, but he knows he will have 'the last laugh'.
āI must be an easy target. Every footballer has a tag and unfortunately mine is, āLetās have a laugh at him.ā
āBut - and I say this in the nicest possible way - I know whoāll have the last laugh. Iām proud of my career and when it finishes and Iām enjoying my life - and by the way Iām super fortunate that Iāll be able to do that, because footballers are fortunate - [the keyboard warriors] will still be in their mumās spare bedroom, sipping Diet Pepsi thatās flat, eating a Pot Noodle, sitting in their boxers, tweeting.ā