Walker injured himself after the 6-3 Manchester derby win and faced a race against time to be fit for the World Cup.
Thankfully, he made it – as we chronicled in our ‘Three Lions: Rehab to the World Cup’ documentary on CITY+ and Recast.
And the 32-year-old returned to action in the 3-0 victory over Wales in the final Group B game, setting up a Round of 16 clash with Senegal on Sunday.
Fellow defender Stones was thrilled to see him back, happy and healthy.
He said: “It is great. I am so happy to see him back and that he is feeling 100% and that he is feeling confident in his body.
“We’ve played a lot of games together and we know each others movements. We’re not afraid of telling each other when we’ve done wrong and that is a great quality to have.
“How he played the other game after being out for so long is credit to himself.
“He is feeling great. It is great to have him back and firing on all cylinders.”
Walker is known for his frightening pace and Stones agrees it is a hugely valuable asset for the backline.
He continued: “It is a great attribute to have.
“That is what makes a team. In certain situations we rely on him to get us out of trouble.
“We try and work on our weaknesses in training. We want to use his pace and physicality at both ends of the pitch, it is the best I have seen.”
Another player who excelled against the Welsh was Phil Foden, who started and scored in the comfortable victory.
Stones is a huge admirer of the Stockport star and says he’s lucky to be able to play alongside him at club and international level.
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He added: “I’ve never seen anyone like Phil, at that age, with his ability and his football knowledge.
“It is the freedom in how he plays and how he expresses himself. It is frightening.
“I am a huge fan of him. I am lucky to play with him every day. I am lucky, Man City are lucky and England are lucky.”
