Pep Guardiola has admitted that Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips faces shoulder surgery but insists he can still make the World Cup.
City boss Guardiola has confirmed Phillips will miss England's Nations League games with Italy and Germany. Phillips was not in City's squad for Saturday's 3-0 victory at Wolves, despite a late substitute appearance against Borussia Dortmund last Wednesday.
Phillips, 26, who has 23 caps, now faces going under the knife but Guardiola insists his summer signing can still be fit for Qatar despite just nine weeks until England open their World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21.
Guardiola said: “He has a problem with the shoulder again and maybe needs surgery in the next days. I am not a doctor but in a good way he can arrive of course the World Cup.
“The doctor says the only solution right now is to do what we have to do. Every time he’s out because of this and the doctors say if it’s three or four times out then the only solution is to have surgery.”
Since his £45million summer move from Leeds, Phillips has made only three appearances, all from the bench, totalling 14 minutes. Asked if this set-back was frustrating, Guardiola replied: “Absolutely – for us as well.
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“We need him because Rodri cannot play all the games, Kalvin came to fight for that position and sometimes you need two holding midfielders to be more defensive. But I think it will be a bit longer because I think he needs it (surgery).”
Phillips has become a key player for Gareth Southgate's England side, starring in their run to the final of Euro 2020. But he was a surprise inclusion in the squad for the upcoming international break amid his struggles to break into Guardiola's plans at City.
Former England star Martin Keown though believes that it was a clever strategy to hand Phillips game-time before the World Cup. His comments came before Phillips suffered his injury, but highlighted the midfielder's importance to Southgate.
“He has been outstanding in the games he has played for England. He is in a situation where he plays for Manchester City but can’t get quite get into the team. One assumes that he plays in both of these matches where Gareth Southgate would say, ‘Pep is not going to pick you but I am’," Keown told talkSPORT.
"There have been messages that there will be minutes for certain players. Maguire and Luke Shaw – are they going to play? He must be picking them to play them because they have not played any football yet.”
It is unknown if Southgate will call up a replacement for Phillips given his injury set-back. Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Mason Mount and James Ward-Prowse are the other central midfielders who were named in Southgate's initial squad.
