The Man United icon admitted he was unaware of Phil Jones' injury struggles when criticising him (Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents/YouTube)
Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones has displayed immense grace by accepting an apology from Rio Ferdinand for past criticisms during his difficult injury spell. The stalwart, who parted ways with United last season after a 12-year stint, hung up his boots in August when he was released by the Premier League giants.
Jones, once a regular player for Manchester United, saw his promising career stymied by recurrent injuries, which limited him to a mere 13 appearances over his final four seasons at Old Trafford. A debilitating knee injury sustained in 2019 resulted in Jones missing 78 matches and a gruelling 18-month recovery period.
During his injury struggles, Ferdinand, who was unaware of the full extent of Jones' troubles, publicly criticised his former team-mate for not leaving the club and encouraged him to seek regular action elsewhere to make room for burgeoning talent at the club.
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In a recent episode of 'Rio Ferdinand Presents,' Jones was invited on as Ferdinand took the opportunity to personally offer up an apology to the 32-year-old, confessing that his earlier commentary had prompted a text from ex-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who made him aware that Jones' absence from the team was due to a knee injury.
"I have to say I apologise firstly before anything, I said sorry publicly but I'll say it to your face this time now, for criticising you," Ferdinand said. "I criticised him about he wasn't playing for a long period of time and I was like 'he's got to go out and play', I knew this kid when he was 18 and came to Man United, he wants to play football, why is he sitting there? ", reports the Mirror.
Jones, 32, retired from football in August after 12 years at Old Trafford (Image: Rio Ferdinand Presents/YouTube)
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"Is it the Man United badge that he wants on his chest, is he staying for his own ego, just go and play some football [and] get out of the way, let another young kid come through because you're stifling someone else's growth maybe." Jones, with a smile, responded: "Apology accepted" before confessing that the criticism from Ferdinand, who he admitted he admired, came during a challenging time in his life.
"I was vulnerable because I hadn't played in so long and I was thinking 'am I ever going to play again', and having all these images and thoughts that it might be the end," he admitted. Since hanging up his boots, Jones has revealed his intentions to earn his coaching badges and has even participated in training sessions with United's youth teams at Carrington.
His first season post-retirement has coincided with United's worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign, with Erik ten Hag's side languishing in 14th place with a mere eight points from seven matches.
