Jones: Missing Madrid Was A Lesson Learnt

Phil Jones played a blinder at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid and kept Cristiano Ronaldo relatively quiet. Having done a similar job against Gareth Bale too, United fans were looking forward to see what he could do in the return leg.

Unfortunately, Jones went flying in to a challenge against Reading in the Cup and ended up leaving the ground on crutches, ruling him out of the second leg. Jones has put this down to inexperience but is keen to learn from his mistakes.

“It was silly tackle,” he conceded. “I probably should have looked after myself a bit more. I will learn from it as an experienced head would probably not have done that. But I will learn from that. It is in me [playing with great enthusiasm]. I like making tackles. I like defending. Injuries are going to occur in football so I’ve probably just been unfortunate, especially at the start of the season. I was gutted [to miss the Madrid tie]. I tried everything to make the game. I was on the treatment table, having massages, in the pool and in the gym. But it was just too soon for me and I missed it.”