Women's Euro 2025: Lioness star Lucy Bronze reveals she played tournament on broken leg as England triumph in penalties
The Lionesses are celebrating after retaining their Euro title in a nail-biting final against Spain - and one star has revealed the incredible circumstances she overcame to win.
Lucy Bronze is one of the senior stars of the Lioness team, and revealed after the penalty shootout that she had incredibly played the entire Euro 2025 tournament on a broken leg.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the England defender said: "I actually played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia, but no-one knew.”
She added: "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.
"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."
Fans spotted Bronze’s heavily-bandaged right knee during the penalty shootout, with the star, 33, limping through celebrations after Chloe Kelly slotted home the winning penalty. Earlier in the tournament, the Chelsea star drew attention for wrapping up her own leg on the pitch during England’s quarter-final game against Sweden.
Despite visibly limping during celebrations in Basel, Switzerland last night (July 28), Bronze was committed to celebrating the Lionesses’ back-to-back Euros title. She said: "It's very painful. I am going to party, I am going to enjoy it and that's it."
Manager Sarina Wiegman praised her player, who spent almost 600 minutes on the pitch during the tournament. She said: "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."
The Lionesses were held to a stalemate in 90 minutes, with no further goals coming in extra time in the final against World Cup champions Spain. The match progressed to penalties, where England triumphed 3-1 over the Spaniards