England striker Danny Welbeck has admitted that he feared he would miss Euro 2012 with an ankle injury.
The Manchester United centre-forward sustained the complaint following a clash with Manchester City's Nigel De Jong in April.
However, the 21-year-old returned during Saturday's friendly against Belgium, where he opened his goalscoring account for the Three Lions.
"When I suffered the injury against City, I did initially fear the worst. That night I went home and all sorts of emotions went through my head," said Welbeck.
"I didn't know what was happening until I had the scan in the morning. At that point, it was very downheartening but luckily I've come back from that and it wasn't as bad as I first feared.
"At times I was thinking 'maybe I won't be able to make it' but I'm glad the manager kept faith in me and I was always ready to go once I was called upon."
Welbeck has been tipped to start in England's opening game of the tournament against France on Monday.
Liam Apicella
