Manchester City defender John Stones admits he feared for his England World Cup place last season.

Stones knew Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate was threatening to overlook players for these finals if they weren't seeing regular action for their clubs.

He revealed: “I spoke to Gareth, and there were some little injuries and things that weren't said out in public. That's why I wasn't in the (Man City) squad as much.

“Gareth's shown a lot of faith in me. I can't express enough how thankful I am for that.

“He knows us well enough by now, our characters, individually they're all different, it's down to him. I thought if I stay true to myself and make sure I put in the work and come to England if selected and fight for a spot, I've done all I can.

“And if I don't get selected, me and Gareth will have that conversation and he'll be honest with me because he's that type of person."