Lucy Bronze finally explains how she played all of Lionesses Euros campaign with broken leg

Lucy Bronze was one of England’s heroes as the Lionesses won Euro 2025 in Switzerland but the evergreen right-back was playing through the pain barrier all tournament long

England star Lucy Bronze shocked fans after the Euro 2025 final by revealing she had been playing the entire tournament with a broken tibia. And now the right-back has shed some more light on how she put the pain to one side to help the Lionesses go all the way in Switzerland.

Bronze started every single game, scoring a crucial goal in the quarter-final comeback against Sweden. She barely missed a minute in the entire tournament, and it was only a separate injury wich forced her off in the final.

The 33-year-old told Metro she first learned the extent of the injury when England played Spain in a Nations League match just weeks before the Euros. She continued training despite the injury, and was grateful to those in the Lionesses camp for keeping things secret.

“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.’”

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After England beat Spain in the final, Niamh Charles spoke about the rest of the squad learning of 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 will return to action with a friendly against China in November, with the draw for World Cup qualifying coming a few weeks before then. Bronze remains on the sidelines for now, though, with her England efforts likely to keep her out of the start of the WSL season.

“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.”

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