‘I was unaware,’ says Rio Ferdinand as Man Utd icon gives Phil Jones heartfelt public apology on camera after criticism

RIO FERDINAND has publicly apologised to Phil Jones for demanding he quit Manchester United.

Jones, 32, officially retired in the summer after making just five appearances in his last three seasons at the club.

XRio Ferdinand has apologised for criticising Phil Jones[/caption]

AFPJones struggled with knee injuries in his 12 years at Man Utd[/caption]

The defender battled persistent knee injuries and was out for 20 months with his worst issue.

Jones has since admitted he struggled mentally while stuck in the treatment room.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand was unaware of his former team-mate’s struggles and criticised the decision to keep him at Old Trafford.

But he has now given Jones a heartfelt apology to his face as he joined him on his show Rio Ferdinand presents.

He said: “Firstly, I have said sorry publicly and I will say it to your face now – sorry for criticising you.

“He wasn’t playing for a long period of time and I was like ‘he’s got to go out and play’.

“I knew this kid when he was 18 and came to Man Utd, he wants to play football, why is he sitting there?

“Is it the crest of Man Utd that he wants on his chest, is he staying for his own ego?

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“Just go and play some football and get out of the way let another young kid come through because you’re stifling someone else’s growth maybe.

“But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer texted me and he said ‘you are obviously not aware but he has been injured for a long time’.

“I thought ‘s***, why has nobody told me?’ But I was unaware of the situation.

“I wanted to say sorry, I hope you do not judge me and it was not personal.”

Jones admitted that Ferdinand’s criticism hurt due to his legendary status at Man Utd and the fact they used to play together.

And he revealed he was in such a “dark place” mentally that he did not want to reach out to Ferdinand to explain his injury battles.

Jones, who wants to go into management, previously said he used to hide his injuries from his team-mates because he did not want them to see him struggling.

He said: “My coping mechanism when I had any problems was to stay silent, and that was probably my downfall.

“I didn’t open up to anyone, and I would hide my injuries from other players and the staff. I put a shield up so no-one knew what was going on, apart from my close family.

“One of my lowest moments was when I was trying to play through the pain of my knee injury, when it had got to a point where the doctor had to inject my knee before every game I played so I didn’t feel it.

“It was embarrassing for me because I didn’t want anyone to see that I was struggling or in pain.

“I was meant to be a tough guy as a defender, remember, so I went into a cubicle in the changing room just as the manager started his pre-match talk and got the doc to inject me in there.”