The Manchester City defender said he had to “dig deep” to fight during the most difficult period of his career, to make it to another World Cup.
John Stones, 32, opened up about his injury struggles and last October revealed he had considered retiremenet for some time.
Stones, speaking to BBC Sport, said: “It was a difficult period when I said that [about retiring] and I hope I don’t get to that again.
“We can all compare ourselves to all the people or different players, different eras and think about how their journey was or how it could have been different and I am a culprit of that – ‘why are these things happening to me? It doesn’t happen to other people’.
“And I really had to dig deep and I am proud of myself for being so mentally strong throughout and coming out the other end of those scenarios or situations.”
John Stones during an England training session on Sunday(Image: Getty Images)