'I could have one leg hanging off' - Lionesses star Lauren James insists she tried everything to get through 'ridiculous amount of pain' at Euro 2025 & tells critics to 'be mindful'

James was part of England's triumphant Euro 2025 winning squad but struggled with injury in the latter stages of the tournament in Switzerland. The Chelsea star was substituted at half-time of the Lionesses' semi-final win over Italy and in first half of the final against Spain.

The 23-year-old also struggled with injury last season, making just 17 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, but was passed fit in time for the tournament in Switzerland. James has now lifted the lid on her physical issues, and the criticism she has received, and revealed how desperate she was to play a key role for the Lionesses.

She told BBC Sport: "A lot of the time fans don't know what is going on, they only know what is in front of them. They don't know what someone is dealing with, what is going on in their life. I always say to the fans, be mindful, you don't know what someone is dealing with out there. You could just be adding on to it. No player goes into a game or into a season thinking I'm not going to try. It was a Euros, they don't come around often. You could have one leg hanging off, I will still tell you that I'm going to try to play. 

"I was obviously fighting to be fit for the Euros, then suffered another injury in the quarter-finals, and tried to play on. Then people assume you're not trying, but at the end of the day I'm in a ridiculous amount of pain which caused me to come off at half-time in the semi-finals and before half-time in the final."

James also revealed how she tried to play through the pain barrier: "I know when something is not right. But we had no more subs left [against Sweden] so I had to stay on the pitch. And then it's a Euros semi-final, I didn't think it was a major injury so I tried to play [against Italy]. Then we're in the final, I can't not play, so I tried again. And obviously we won, but I didn't feel great. I didn't play how I wanted to play, I couldn't dribble, I couldn't run properly."

James is set to miss the start of the new WSL season due to the injury she sustained at Euro 2025. Chelsea open up the defence of their Women's Super League title on Friday against Manchester City at Stamford Bridge.