Manchester City and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips has provided an update on his fitness before the Three Lions announce their squad for the 2022 World Cup.
The English midfielder has spent most of the 22/23 campaign on the sidelines after picking up an injury during Man City’s mid-season friendly with Barcelona.
Phillips then underwent surgery to fix a recurring shoulder problem and has not played for Man City since. His injury left him in doubt for the World Cup.
However, he is close to regaining full form before the World Cup. England is expected to announce its World Cup squad this week. Whether Phillips will make the cut remains to be seen.
Kalvin Phillips gives fitness update ahead of England World Cup squad announcement
Providing an update on his fitness, Phillips said his shoulder is “perfectly fine now.” He revealed that everything is going very well and he is optimistic about being able to play the 90 minutes.
“The shoulder is perfectly fine now. I went through a seven-week recovery process as quickly as possible for the World Cup,” Phillips told BBC Radio 5 Live.
He added: “Everything is going very well. Obviously I haven’t done it for a long time, but I’ve stayed fit and I’d like to think I could play 90 minutes.”
Meanwhile, another Manchester City player, Kyle Walker, is recovering from groin surgery. He faces a race against time to get fit for the World Cup.
England are also sweating over the fitness of Chelsea defender Reece James. The Chelsea full-back suffered a knee injury during the Blues’ 2-0 win over AC Milan at the San Siro. James is hopeful that he will recover in time for the World Cup and make it to the England squad.
Meanwhile, another Chelsea defender, Ben Chilwell, was ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a hamstring injury. Chilwell was stopped with a hamstring problem in added time of Chelsea’s 2–1 win over Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League. Scan results have since revealed that Chilwell has a significant injury.
Chelsea confirmed that Chilwell is expected to miss the World Cup. After which, Chilwell took to Twitter to react to his shattered World Cup dreams.
