Since making a £42 million (The Athletic) to Manchester City in the summer, Kalvin Phillips has had far from the dream start to life at the Etihad Stadium.
While it was expected that the England international would serve as an understudy to Rodri, constant injuries have meant he is yet to start a single competitive fixture for the club.
After suffering an initial hamstring injury at the start of the campaign, Phillips managed to dislocate his shoulder in training, which demanded surgery.
Not only did the untimely injury halt his progress at City but could potentially for England, as the defensive midfielder’s place in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Qatar World Cup remains up in the air.
However, the 26-year old was recently pictured in training alongside his teammates, which bodes well for his chances of returning to the pitch for both club and country.
And while talking to BBC 5 Live Sport, Kalvin Phillips revealed that he could get minutes for Manchester City under his belt as soon as in the side’s upcoming Carabao Cup clash against Chelsea on Wednesday.
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“After my first full contact [Manchester City training] session back, he [Pep Guardiola] took me to one side for a chat after and told me he was going to try and get me some minutes against Chelsea which is a real positive”, he said.
Phillips continued, “He knows I need to be out there playing football for Man City and try to be involved with England at the World Cup.”
Ultimately, this is welcome news for the Premier League champions, as the Leeds-born midfielder has played a measly 13 minutes in all competitions so far this term.
In addition, Kalvin Phillips’ eventual return to fitness could also give Rodri a breather, who has one of the highest minutes out of any player at City this season.
The hope remains that Phillips returns to what he does best against Chelsea and kickstarts his Manchester City career into gear.