When English footballer Phil Jones left the field after the Red Devils’ defeat at Wolves on Monday night, he patted a badge on his chest as he fought back tears as supporters at the Stretford End chanted his name.
A little about Phil Jones
Jones just completed 90 minutes of Premier League football for the first time since January 2020 – something that, in his darkest days of injury recovery, he feared he could never do again. Phil’s fitness problems first began before he was signed to Man Utd, when he was still at the Blackburn Rovers, and while he bravely battled the fallout from the severe meniscus injury Phil received in his right knee in play. against West Ham in December 2010, he caught up with him after his move to Old Trafford.
During his 11 years at Man Utd, Jones was sidelined 22 times with various injuries. However, Phil didn’t let this hold him back. During the first forced lock on covid, he got up earlier than his kids to do extra work in the running and gym. Consequently, when the Englishman returned to training with the rest of the senior squad in 2020, he felt like a bar and stronger than ever before.
But then the injury broke out again, and he needed an operation, which ruled him out for the entire last season. The brutality, trauma, facial expressions and form led the center-back to become a figure of ridicule during his Man Utd career, so much so that he effectively deleted all of his social media accounts in 2017. It may have spared him all the abuse he received online, but it didn’t stop him from becoming the scapegoat.
Apologies to Phil Jones
In August 2020, they were forced to apologize to the player after Man Utd filed a formal complaint with social media after posting a snapshot of a 29-year-old teenager that sparked a torrent of abuse. It wasn’t just faceless fans who attacked Phil unfairly. Ferdinand called it a waste of time back in August. It is believed that Rio Ferdinand’s attack prompted Phil’s to give an in-depth interview about the struggles he faced, returning to full physical fitness.
That dedication and determination to play again also prompted Phil’s parting defense by then-Man Utd manager Solskjaer, and it’s understandable that Rio has been in touch ever since to apologize for his comments. Sources say he used setbacks and criticism to spur him on, and anyone who has worked with the center’s advocate will testify of his dedication and perseverance. After 14 months of rehab, Phil Jones completed his first full session in August 2021 and received a round of applause on the training ground from his teammates.
It is understood that Phil Jones is still regularly one of the first on the training ground to do a longer warm-up in the hopes that this will minimize his risk of suffering a recurrence of injury problems while his hard work at the sessions was also noted. In addition, Phil Jones is a popular figure around the club’s training base in Carrington, and sources credit Jones with maintaining morale during dire times like these.