England Women, the Lionesses, defended their European title after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Spain in the Euro 2025 final. One of the main architects behind the triumph, Chelsea full-back Lucy Bronze, made a stunning revelation after the win — she had played the entire tournament with a fractured leg.
“I actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia, but no-one knew,” said Bronze while speaking to BBC Sport.
Bronze, England’s oldest player at Euro 2025, logged 598 minutes during the tournament — the fourth-highest for Sarina Wiegman’s side. Despite her injury, she helped England stage a remarkable comeback from 1-0 down to force a shootout and then scored the winning penalty to seal victory.
Bronze was seen strapping her right leg for support during the quarter-final against Sweden, raising early concerns. But she continued to push through the pain, and in the final on Sunday, she played 105 minutes in a tense encounter against Spain, despite also injuring her left knee during the game.
“I just hurt my knee today on the other leg. That is why I got a lot of praise from the girls after the Sweden game because I have been in a lot of pain,” she added.
Despite the injuries, the England star insisted she will continue to play for the national team and hopes to inspire others with her resilience.
“But if that’s what it takes to play for England, that’s what I’ll do – they know that. We inspire each other by playing through things like that and it got us to the end, in the end,” she concluded.
Bronze was seen heavily bandaged on her right leg during the penalty shootout and joined the celebrations despite clearly being in immense pain. When asked whether her injury would stop her from celebrating, she replied: “It’s very painful. I am going to party, I am going to enjoy it and that’s it.”
England manager Sarina Wiegman confirmed Bronze’s injury during the post-match interview and praised her player’s mentality.
“She had some issues with her tibia so of course we tried to manage that. When you play 120 minutes you’re not managing it are you? The whole team has a great mentality but she has a crazy mentality, it’s unbelievable,” Wiegman said.
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