Fresh off the back of yet another Euros win, the England women's team are riding high – including defender Lucy Bronze, who revealed that she was keeping a huge health secret throughout the entire gripping tournament.
Bronze, 33, played in all six of England's matches in the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 competition, and revealed in a post-match interview that she was powering through a significant injury: "I actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia, but no-one knew," she explained.
The tibia – also known as the shin bone – is the bone which runs from your knee joint to your ankle joint, and is vital for stability and weight-bearing. The idea of playing while having a fractured one sounds, quite frankly, hellish.
When commenting on whether or not it would impact her celebrations, Bronze said, "It's very painful. I am going to party, I am going to enjoy it and that's it."
During the tense final against Spain, the player could be seen limping on the pitch too and finished her appearance after an impressive 105 minutes, with a bandaged leg. This, she also detailed, was down to injuring her other leg too.
"I just hurt my knee today on the other leg," Bronze shared. "That is why I got a lot of praise from the girls after the Sweden game because I have been in a lot of pain.
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"But if that's what it takes to play for England, that's what I'll do – they know that. We inspire each other by playing through things like that and it got us to the end, in the end."
Commenting on how she is mentally strong in the face of injuries, Sarina Wiegman, England's manager, said Bronze has a "crazy mentality".
"She had some issues with her tibia so of course we tried to manage that," she told press. "When you play 120 minutes you're not managing it are you? The whole team has a great mentality but she has a crazy mentality, it's unbelievable."
Ouch – and kudos!
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
