Lucy Bronze finally lifts the lid on how she played entirety of England's successful Euro 2025 campaign with a broken leg

England star Lucy Bronze has explained how she played the entirety of the Lionesses' successful Euro 2025 campaign with a broken leg.

Bronze started each of England's games at the tournament and scored against Sweden in the quarter-finals during a dramatic comeback. The defender had to go off with a separate injury in the final against Spain but was a key figure throughout the competition. 

After the tournament the 33-year-old revealed that she had been playing with a broken tibia.

Bronze explained that she was committed to playing at the Euros despite her situation. 

Bronze told The Metro: 'I said live on TV after we beat Spain on penalties to win the final that I had been playing in Switzerland with a fractured tibia, but I never expected the attention that comment got.'

'So here’s what really happened. There wasn’t one standout moment where I knew about it but I’d been experiencing discomfort at the end of the domestic season and then had a scan to diagnose it.

'The first time I played with knowledge of the injury was against Spain in the Nations League in early June. I came off early in the second half because I was committed to playing at the Euros. 

'I never stopped training despite the pain that I’d experienced after having taken a few knocks. All I knew coming into the tournament was I wanted to play for England at the European Championship, although it was not a decision I took lightly.

'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.'

Bronze added that she has a different pain threshold to some other players.

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.’

'I’m someone who trains and does all the extras, so having points where I couldn’t do all that stuff was hard for me. I couldn’t push myself ahead of the tournament.

'But I ended up playing 120 minutes in the quarter-final and semi-final, and also the vast majority of the final, which also went to extra-time.'

Bronze was also part of England's successful side at Euro 2022.

The Chelsea star has scored 20 goals in 140 appearances for England.