England star Lucy Bronze stunned supporters following the Euro 2025 final by revealing that she had competed throughout the entire tournament with a fractured tibia. Now the right-back has revealed further details about how she managed to overcome the agony to assist the Lionesses in their triumphant campaign across Switzerland.
Bronze featured in every single match, netting a vital goal during the quarter-final fightback against Sweden. She scarcely missed any playing time during the whole competition, with only a different injury forcing her withdrawal in the final.
The 33-year-old told the Metro of how she initially discovered the severity of the problem when England faced Spain in a Nations League fixture mere weeks prior to the Euros. She persisted with training despite the setback, expressing appreciation to those within the Lionesses setup for maintaining confidentiality.
“Knowledge of the injury was something we wanted to keep within our bubble and I didn’t want a big deal made out of it and I also didn’t expect any special treatment,” she said. “For me, it was the usual ‘I’ve just got to get on with it’ mentality. Yes, some people were shocked that I was playing through the pain, but my pain threshold is a bit different.
“I had conversations with boss Sarina Wiegman and the England medical staff, who supported me throughout, about the plan and the risks of playing on, but there was never a question in my mind I would do so. The moment I really thought about it was when our captain Leah Williamson got injured in the quarter-final against Sweden and was in quite a lot of pain. I remember her saying to me: ‘If you can play with a broken leg, I can play on with this.'”
Following England’s triumph over Spain in the final, Niamh Charles revealed how the rest of the squad discovered Bronze’s injury. “It’s something we’ve known about in camp but I think she’s very good and she just gets on with it and no one really truly knows how much she’s dealing with,” Charles – who replaced Bronze in the final – said.
“To play on [with] that is pretty incredible but if there was anyone to do it it would have been her. [That’s] proper, proper English. Once we win we can talk about it but it’s absolutely job done first, and she’s a credit to that and an England legend.”
England are set to return to the pitch with a friendly against China in November, with the World Cup qualifying draw scheduled for a few weeks beforehand.
Bronze remains sidelined for the time being, however, with her England heroics likely to rule her out of the WSL season’s opening fixtures. “Now I just have to sit tight – unfortunately – and wait for the bone to heal before I resume training with Chelsea,” she explained. “Hopefully it won’t be too long. I’m itching to return already.”