Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips will withdraw from the England squad after a decision was made to send him under the knife for surgery on a persistent shoulder injury.
Phillips, who has suffered two nasty shoulder injuries during his career, was named in Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad despite seeing just 14 minutes of action for City in an injury-hit debut season at the Etihad.
However, numerous outlets have now reported that Phillips will play no part in the upcoming internationals for his country and is now set for surgery to correct the issue.
While missing the Nations League clashes with Italy and Germany is not ideal, the biggest concern for Phillips is that he may not be fit in time to feature in the World Cup later this year.
Southgate’s provisional squad is expected to be announced in just over a month. Phillips will likely make that as the boss will give him every chance to prove his fitness, but time is clearly not on his side.
It’s the latest in a growing line of setbacks that Phillips has faced following his £42m move from Leeds United in the summer.
A knock to the shoulder in pre-season has limited Phillips involvement so far. He has not featured in the Premier League since coming on as a late substitute during the opening weekend, and despite returning for City’s two Champions League games, he was forced to miss out on a spot in the City squad for Saturday’s victory over Wolves.
