Manchester United defender Phil Jones does NOT believe he is injury prone… but his wife disagrees

PHIL JONES wants to put the record straight about being branded injury prone.

Posted Sunday, November 12, 2017 by Thesun.co.uk

The England defender limped off against Germany on Friday night when he aggravated a thigh complaint he was carrying.

Manchester United defender Phil Jones does NOT believe he is injury prone… but his wife disagrees
The 25-year-old was replaced by debutant Joe Gomez at Wembley on Saturday

Yet he is likely to be fit by the weekend and could even stay with the England squad ahead of their next friendly against Brazil on Tuesday.

But getting called a crock is what Jones, 25, has to deal with, even when the knocks are minor.

Manchester United may not have expected him to play but that is part of being an all-action Premier League defender.

Against Leicester earlier in the season, boss Jose Mourinho revealed Jones picked up an injury, yet was able to play against Malta and Slovakia back-to-back during the September internationals.

Jones said: "That wasn't an injury, I just rolled my ankle a little — but that's what I mean.

"It's a fine line. People think you're injured. I'm not injured, I'm just carrying a little niggle.

"But people think, 'Oh he's injured, he's got an ankle problem'.

"It doesn't mean you're injured, you're managing it for the next game. Injuries get misinterpreted.

"I could give you a list of 40 Premier League players who've had far more injuries than me and nobody talks about them.

"Maybe that's because I play for United and that's the way it is. But I've never seen myself as that."

Critics have pointed to his all-action style contributing to his knocks.

He said: "My wife is always saying I'm clumsy but that's little stuff around the house. I two-foot her in the kitchen!"

The 'old-school' tag comes from incidents like heading the ball on the floor when he tried to stop Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud in 2015.

Jones said: "You're on about the headed tackle... just say it.

"I've got underneath the ball and I had to do something to stop him from scoring.

"I'm not trying to be a hero but you have to put your body on the line.

"I have a physical side but I can also play out from the back."

Comparisons with the great Duncan Edwards when he arrived at United in 2011 increased expectations with fans. But he joked: "Then they realised what they had!"