The England player was dropped from the Man City squad because he was overweight
England players attending the 2022 World Cup, including John Stones, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish, all played in the 3-2 victory over Liverpool at Etihad Stadium in the round of 16 of the English League Cup on December 22. However, Phillips - the midfielder has only 40 minutes to play in Qatar from two substitutes - is absent.
After the match, Guardiola explained that Phillips was not injured, but returned to the army in an overweight state. "He is not in the right state to train or play," the Spanish coach emphasized. But he rejected the notion that England's training regimen at the 2022 World Cup was the cause of Phillips' overweight.
According to Extra City, Guardiola sets a separate weight limit for each Man City player, and the Catalan coach is very strict with cases of exceeding these limits. Sergio Aguero was once removed from the list of competitions just because he reached 80kg, only 100 grams heavier than the regulation.
Guardiola said he spoke directly to Phillips about the overweight situation. He emphasized, the 27-year-old midfielder will soon regain his fitness to play, because the club is in dire need of Phillips' service before the busy schedule of the transition period from the old year to the new year.
After shining brightly to help England reach the final of Euro 2021, Phillips was recruited by Man City for a total transfer fee of $ 61 million in the summer of 2022. However, he struggled with injury and has only played four times since the beginning of the season, with 54 minutes on all fronts. In particular, the Man City midfielder played 40 minutes in the League Cup, 13 minutes in the Champions League and 1 minute in the Premier League.
However, Phillips was still named by coach Gareth Southgate in the list of 26 England players for the 2022 World Cup. Here, Phillips could not compete for the position of the trio of Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, playing only 32 minutes. at the end of the match against Wales in the last round of the group stage and the last 8 minutes of the victory over Senegal in the 1/8 round with a score of 3-0.
According to British newspaper Sportmail, Phillips can return when he meets his old club Leeds in the Premier League on December 28, or the match against Everton on December 31.
Besides Phillips, Ruben Dias was also absent from the win over Liverpool. Guardiola revealed the Portuguese midfielder has a hamstring injury from the 2022 World Cup and it is unclear when he will return. On December 22, Man City defeated Liverpool thanks to Erling Haaland, Riyad Mahrez, Nathan Ake, and will meet Southampton in the quarter-finals of the League Cup on January 10.
