Manchester United defender Phil Jones has spoken out about how he was left in a state of shock by the discovery of a blood clot in his calf during pre-season.
United doctor Steve McNally spotted the clot on the eve of the new campaign and Jones was sidelined until the end of September as he underwent treatment.
"It was pretty frightening at first, at least until I found out the extent of the injury," recalled Jones.
"And then it was just about doing the right thing, and recovering well and making sure it went.
"It happened in pre-season against Barcelona and I just felt some tightness in my calf and it kept coming and didn’t go away. I thought nothing of it at first.
"It is what it is. You can't change that. It's not from the tackle or a stupid injury, it was just a freak incident."
Jones was part of the England side that lost 2-0 against Spain in an international friendly on Friday, a first defeat since the World Cup in June 2014 for Roy Hodgson's men, who breezed through Euro 2016 qualification with 10 wins from 10.
Next up is a friendly against France at Wembley on Tuesday – a game that will be emotionally charged after the events in Paris on Friday – and Jones is reading nothing into the Spain setback.
He said: "Let's not get carried away. We got beaten. Whether it be against Spain or anyone, we're disappointed in that respect. But there are a few positives to take from the game.
"There's a long way to go from until the Euros. There is a lot to learn and a lot to improve on, but we will. We'll keep on improving, take the positives from the game and keep moving forwards."
