John Stones Reveals When He Plans to Come Back to Action After World Cup Return

The Manchester City defender has revealed that he is targeting the Community Shield for his return.

The 24-year-old, quoted by The Mirror, has stated his intent to play for City in their curtain raiser against Chelsea on Sunday August 5.

Stones said: “I’m going to go back in for the first game against Chelsea in the Community Shield. I just want to keep the momentum going. I will have a break. I will just make sure I am fighting fit for the new season.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing, I’ve enjoyed my football, I’ve enjoyed the challenges of playing in the biggest games. I felt like I’ve expressed myself, tried to bring everything to the table.

“I can honestly say I gave it my all, I’ve left nothing out on the pitch. Now it is about keeping improving. I feel I’ve improved as a person and a footballer over the last few weeks on the biggest stage in the world.”

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Stones, who played every minute during the World Cup, was part of an England team which reached the semi final of the World Cup for the first time in 28 years under Southgate, scoring twice in a 6-1 win against Panama.

“Enormous credit to Gareth and everyone behind the scenes for the way it has been and carried out. They have made it flawless for us. It’s a great benchmark for what you do as England. We’ve set a standard. We don’t just want to maintain that we want to improve on it.

“That’s the aim now. We’ll go away, reflect a lot. Obviously we’re still hurting but also I think we should be really proud and we will take a lot of positives from the tournament.”