Malta v England: How Jodi Jones battled back from three ACL injuries to take on the Three Lions
Long before Jodi Jones "ran out of tears" over the injuries that threatened his career, he was crying about the England team he is about to face with Malta.
After three anterior cruciate ligament injuries in as many years had the 25-year-old winger fearing his playing days were over, he is now preparing for a European Championship qualifier against the country where he was born, raised and has always passionately supported.
"I had England kits growing up and remember going to McDonalds to get the Happy Meals and all the little figures," he told BBC Sport. "I've still got them now.
"I have so many memories of England, I remember when they lost to Portugal on penalties [in 2006] - I was crying my eyes out."
Jones, who last month helped his club Notts County to promotion from the National League after an epic battle at the top with Wrexham, was only eight when he watched that World Cup quarter-final exit in despair.
Seventeen years on, he is set to line up against that same national team he grew up cheering for - and still follows "even though I play for Malta now".
However, three serious knee injuries - which saw him go 1,908 days without starting a league game - nearly derailed everything.
'My agent rang me in tears to say I'd done it again'
Choosing to play for Malta, ranked 172 in the world, and "risking" dropping down to play non-league football with Notts County last season has been the rebirth of the winger, who was once coveted by Leeds United and many others before undergoing the first of three major knee operations in 2017.
"The third time it happened my mentality was strong from the first two," he recalled after he hurt his right knee, having suffered the injury twice before on his left.
"When I watch the video back I should have been screaming in agony, rolling around, because it was worse than the first two.
"My mind was telling me I was OK, I was jumping around in the kitchen telling my partner I was fine, that it might be a tiny bit different. My agent then rang me in tears to say I'd done it again.
"I just couldn't believe it, I shook my head. I couldn't even cry. The two years before I cried so much, I'd run out of tears.
"I could feel the same feeling as crying but nothing would come out. It was like turning the tap on but no water came out."
'My dream nearly came to an end'
Jones endured enough heartbreak and setbacks to know how fragile his playing career could be.
"What haunted me the most was seeing people who would say stuff like 'he was going to be the next big thing' or people themselves saying that they were good but this or that let them down," he said.
"I thought, no, I don't want to be another one of them. With all due respect, I don't want to be one of those people who say I could have done this, or I didn't because of this.
"It was a tough time for me. All I ever wanted to be was a footballer, so to see my dream nearly come to an end was obviously the hardest period of my life."
The three operations saw him sidelined for a total of 897 days, which meant missing 130 games, between November 2017 and August 2021.
He went more than five years between starting league matches, from the day he was first hurt in Coventry City's sky blue in League Two to featuring for Notts County in the National League after being sent out on loan by Oxford United.
'Why did I score the goal that took us to Wembley? Why me?'
A last-minute extra-time winner for Notts in their play-off semi-final against Boreham Wood to send the Magpies to the Wembley promotion final was his first goal in 1,662 days.
The image of Jones thumping his shot home from the top left edge of the box at Meadow Lane then wheeling around to race downfield, pulling his shirt over his head and screaming with euphoria sums up all he had been through and is proof of what he is capable of.
Remembering the moment, Jones said: "I just thought 'why me?' There are 20 outfield players, why me? Why did I score the goal that took us to Wembley? I just thought everything happens for a reason, all those tough times I had were wiped out in one moment."
And, when the promotion showdown against Chesterfield ended 2-2 after extra time, Jones helped seal County's English Football League return by scoring in the penalty shootout.
"One of the biggest things about me is that I have crazy belief in myself," he said.
"These are normal things for me, putting the ball in the back of the net. I did it plenty of times as kid, and I thought to myself what's the difference now? We are at Wembley and it means more, but I kind of blocked that out.
"I thought, do it how you did it playing for your school team, do it how you did it playing in the park with your mates. I'd never missed them, so why would I miss now?"
Jones hopes to share 'special' moment with Maddison
Jones, who was rewarded for his play-off heroics with a permanent move to Notts, smiles when talking about again playing with the same self-assurance he saw from former Coventry team-mate, and soon to be international rival, James Maddison.
As injury stalled Jones' career, Maddison's went on to flourish at Leicester City, earning him a World Cup call-up with England last year.
"I remember when I was at Coventry, the belief that guy had that he was the best player was unbelievable," said Jones, who was born and raised in east London.
"You could say it's arrogance, but he knew how good he was. He'd go on the pitch and he'd be like 'I'm the best player'. And I believe that when I play as well, because if you don't believe then you are already 50% away from achieving what you want."
At Malta's intimate Ta' Qali National Stadium, with its modest capacity of less than 17,000, Jones now hopes to thank Maddison for ensuring he never let go of that belief.
"When I got injured for the third time he sent me a signed shirt, one from him and Jamie Vardy, just to try cheer me up," said Jones.
"It was a little gesture from him and that helped me a lot. He kept telling me, like all my friends did, that I would be back stronger.
"To be back on the pitch and to swap shirts and just remember him telling me I'd be back will be a very special moment."
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