Manchester City first-team star admits to “some very low points” last season | OneFootball

John Stones has made a plea to Pep Guardiola to keep his faith in the Manchester City defender as the England international continues to be linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium.

Stones, 31, struggled to maintain fitness in the recent season and with Manchester City heavily stocked with centre-halves, the Barnsley-born man is the leading contender to be the next senior player to be shown the door after Kevin De Bruyne and Scott Carson.

Kyle Walker will leave Manchester City on a permanent basis this summer after spending the second half of the previous campaign on loan at AC Milan, with Stones also expected by many to follow his compatriot out of the door.

A lack of available personnel at centre-back was a serious concern for Guardiola in the recent winter, with Walker’s exit compounding those issues and forcing City to uncharacteristically adding Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis to their ranks in January.

City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak admitted to regrets in the boardroom over the club not being as aggressive as they should have been in last summer’s transfer window – which has seen the club spend just under £300 million on eight new players since January.

Hugo Viana has spearheaded Manchester City’s rebuild since his appointment as director of football, with the Blues signing the quartet of Rayan Ait-Nouri, Marcus Bettinelli, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki in the space of a few days earlier this month.

All four signings were brought in and registered in time for the ongoing FIFA Club World Cup campaign, with Cherki and Reijnders named in the starting XI in Manchester City’s opening win over Wydad AC last week.

Stones spent some time with the England National Team last month as he progressed his recovery from his hamstring injury – and having been included in the Manchester City squad for the Club World Cup – the centre-back is expected to play some part in the tournament after Guardiola confirmed that Stones is not ready to start just yet.

Speaking to Rob Dawson of ESPN this week, Stones has given an honest verdict on the recurring injury troubles that have proved a nuisance to his Manchester City career.

“I’m back fit, feel great and excited to get going. It’s difficult when you’re injured,” Stones said. “There’s been points where you think, you’ve been giving all this effort, dedicate all your life, especially how I approach or go about my life, and football, I give everything, on and off the pitch to be here or be ready to play and those are the dark days.”

Reflecting on his struggles with injury last term, the defender added: “It’s frustrating. I put a lot of pressure on myself. I find it very challenging mentally.

“I’ve had some very low points and just have to come back and once you come over those things, you can’t really see the end of the tunnel when they keep happening.

“It’s frustrating for the team, myself, the manager, that you’re not available to help, and you’ve got to find another way to be around the team.

“I don’t know the reason, we’ve sat with medical staff, sports science, to try and figure out why. Some things can’t be explained.

“Which is even more testing mentally when there’s not really an answer. I’ve been unlucky with some I’ve had, very rare last season, after speaking to specialists. Sometimes I think, why has it happened to me?”