Kalvin Phillips has moved to thank Gareth Southgate for showing faith in him after he was named in the England World Cup squad despite hardly playing this season.
Manchester City signed Phillips in the summer to replace departing captain Fernandinho but things haven't gone to plan so far with the midfielder being hit by a number of injuries. The most significant of which was another blow to a shoulder that had troubled him for some time and required surgery to fix.
Phillips played 40 minutes in the Carabao Cup victory over Chelsea on Wednesday night in his return to action but that only takes his total minutes on the pitch this season to 54. However, he has still been named in the England squad for the World Cup and is very grateful to the management staff for the opportunity.
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"Buzzing is an understatement!" he tweeted. "I've dreamt of the call to represent my country at the World Cup since I can remember.
"I can’t thank the England manager and staff enough for their faith in me, and I'll do everything I can to repay that in Qatar. Bring on the World Cup!"
Southgate was quizzed about Phillips' inclusion in his press conference and explained that a lack of options in his position meant his selection was worth the risk.
"No, that's not the case," he replied when asked if it was safe to assume that he could not play in England's first match against Iran on Monday, November 21. "I mean Kalvin played last night, so I think with him he's free of injury.
"We are aware that he's not going to be able to play seven 90 minutes. That won't be possible, we'll have to build his fitness level. But he's available, he's free of injury and we don't really have - we have Declan Rice as a defensive midfielder, Hendo [Jordan Henderson] can play there but it's not his number one position - so we don't have a lot of cover for that role in the country and Kalvin is a super player. We feel that's a risk worth taking because generally his fitness is good and we think he can enter the group."
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