The England squad that travelled to Germany for Euro 2024 eventually left heartbroken as they suffered defeat in the final to Spain, but an injury for one key player caused heartbreak even before the first game against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen.
In selecting his final England squad, Gareth Southgate made some shock decisions for the 26 he was taking to Euro 2024 - Adam Wharton and Lewis Dunk were both included, while Jack Grealish, James Maddison and Harry Maguire all missed out.
But while a lack of form accounted for Grealish and Maddison's snubbing, injury kept Maguire out of the side. After picking up a calf injury sustained in April, Maguire missed the final month of the season - including Manchester United's FA Cup victory over Manchester City - and then couldn't recover in time to board the plane to Germany.
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“The last couple of months have been a real disappointment for me – one of the toughest moments of my career to date,” Maguire exclusively tells FourFourTwo. “I’m just happy to be back playing again. I got into a good place mentally and physically last season with my form, but then my body broke down on me."
Maguire worked hard over the summer to get back to full fitness, starting for Manchester United against Arsenal in their first game of their pre-season tour of the USA - just two weeks after England fell to Spain in Berlin.
“The tour was really good – it’s always good to go to the USA, train and see our fans," Maguire says. "You see just how big the club is when you go to places like that, and the worldwide support that we have.”
The 31-year-old also managed more minutes against Real Betis, before playing the majority of the Community Shield against Manchester City at Wembley. He did start the first two Premier League games of the season against Fulham and Brighton, too, before being dropped for Matthijs de Ligt against Liverpool.
He's now back in the England squad, though, with interim boss Lee Carsley immediately reintergrating the centre-back back into the fold for their Nations League fixtures against the Republic of Ireland and Finland this September.
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