How I almost resigned from football last season – Man United’s Evans

After an injury-ridden campaign with Leicester City, resulting in relegation from the Premier League, Evans made a return to Old Trafford during the summer.

“No, definitely [not],” Evans said when asked if he could have envisaged such a positive turnaround in his career.

“I think I went through a stage last year where you start thinking ‘maybe this is it coming to an end’.

“So there is no doubt that I did have those thoughts at times. I couldn’t get over the injuries and, every time I came back, I was breaking down.

“I had a lot of people say ‘there’s no way you’re close to finishing’, but you have to prove that to yourself and I feel I’ve been able to do that.

“I’ve trained a lot, getting all that behind me, completing matches. Every time you complete a match, you think there’s another one down.

“Sometimes you’re having to confirm that to yourself and I’ve been pleased I’ve been able to go through that process. I feel I’m in a good place.”

Evans came through United’s academy and won three Premier League titles and a Champions League during his first spell there before moving to West Bromwich Albion in 2015, and then to Leicester three years later, winning the FA Cup with the Foxes in 2021.

Before Saturday’s Euro 2024 qualifier 3-0 victory over San Marino at Windsor Park, the Greenisland Academy graduate was presented with a plaque by Northern Ireland legend Pat Jennings to mark winning his 100th international cap last summer.