Harry Maguire has admitted his recovery from ankle ligament damage picked up playing for Manchester United towards the end of the Premier League season has gone better than expected.
The 28-year-old saw his record of being an ever-present in the Premier League since signing for United end at Aston Villa on 9th May when he limped off after a tackle from Anwar El Ghazi.
The injury ruled Maguire out of the remainder of United's season, including the defeat on penalties to Villarreal in the Europa League final in Gdansk, but he has recovered in time to feature for England at the European Championship.
Maguire wore a protective boot after scans showed his ankle ligaments had been damaged and while he travelled to Gdansk and was named on the bench he was never going to be fit enough to feature.
The United captain also sat out England's first two games at Euro 2020 but he returned against Czech Republic and has been excellent in knockout wins against Germany and Ukraine, scoring in the quarter-final success in Rome on Saturday night.
Maguire admits he wasn't sure he would be fit to play for his country this summer when he sustained the injury, but after missing out on United's showpiece he was determined to be fit to play some part in the European Championships.
He will now make his fourth consecutive start when England face Denmark in the semi-final at Wembley on Wednesday.
“With any injury, you don’t know how you're going to recover, you don’t know the rehab, if you’re going to have a setback. Touch wood I haven’t had any setbacks," he said.
“It’s all gone smoothly and it’s all gone to plan and it’s gone a little bit quicker than we all thought. To miss the Europa League final was disappointing. Then I fully set my sights on making the Euros squad.
“I didn’t actually know which game that I would be available [for] and when I would be able to play such competitive football at such a high level.
"It’s not like I’m getting thrown into a friendly match, it’s the European Championship, it’s so demanding with the intensity of each game.
“Where it’s gone and where it’s been, great credit to the medical staff at Manchester United and England for the way they went about everything and the way they’ve pushed me every day.
"I’m really proud of myself as well for the way I’ve pushed myself."
