Gareth Southgate has expressed concern about Kalvin Phillips’ fitness ahead of the World Cup.
The Manchester City midfielder withdrew from the current squad in order to have shoulder surgery, putting him in a race against time to prove his fitness.
‘You only need to look at his performances for us and Leeds, as well as the fact that he’s now moved to a big club, to see his level.’
‘He had a huge impact when he came into the squad and was a massive part of the run to a European final.
‘The truth is that we don’t know about the injury.’ It’s obviously going to be very tight because the first part is healing from that operation, and the second part is whether he can play enough football once he’s healed to be considered.
‘As a result, we’re always optimistic.’ It’s amazing what the body can do when there’s a goal and someone is really motivated to achieve it.
‘He had a dislocated shoulder in the final game of the season before the Euros, so his recovery was quite remarkable in and of itself.
‘We’ll just have to wait and see, and I know he’s disappointed to miss this camp and is completely focused on returning for his club and, hopefully, for us.’
