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Man City midfielder Kalvin Phillips says he has fully recovered from his shoulder injury, boosting his chances of an England 2022 World Cup spot.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the 26-year-old noted that he is hopeful of securing a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad.
Phillips has missed the majority of the campaign through a shoulder injury. He has played just 14 minutes for Man City across all competitions.
He has featured for just one minute in the Premier League, coming on as a late substitute in the opening day win at West Ham. His other 12 minutes have arrived over two games in the Champions League.
Man City midfielder ready to play 90 minutes
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Phillips hasn’t played a match since September, when he was forced into surgery on his injured shoulder. But the midfielder believes the injury is now behind him.
“The shoulder’s perfectly fine now,” said Phillips.
“I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great.
“I’ve obviously not done it for quite a long time now but I’ve kept my fitness up and I’d like to think I could play 90 minutes.”
Phillips taking it day by day
Phillips will need as much game time as possible before the tournament starts in order to grant a place in Southgate’s midfield.
Jude Bellingham looks set to be a starter thanks to his displays for Borussia Dortmund. The same can be said for West Ham’s Declan Rice.
The likes of Jordan Henderson and Mason Mount will also be keen for a spot in England’s midfield.
Phillips is, however, more than ready to play a part for his country, saying: “The funny thing is, I did a full contact session the other day and two days before that I wasn’t supposed to do a full training session, but it turned into one.
“I must have fallen over and been knocked over in both three times. I fell on my shoulder, I felt fine and got back up.
“I knew from day one after the operation it was going to be I need to get going, get into training and do as much as I can.
“I’ll try to do as much as I can, not pushing it too much. The physio has been brilliant but told me to take it slow because shoulder injuries are very difficult to heal. I’ve taken it slow but done as much as I can.”
Midfielder set for Man City minutes
Having recovered from his injury, Phillips is now set to play a part in Man City’s remaining fixtures before the World Cup.
Man City host Chelsea in the third round of the League Cup on Wednesday night. This is followed by a Premier League fixture against Brentford on Saturday.
It remains to be seen how many minutes Phillips will play for Man City in the upcoming games, but he looks certain to be involved in some way.
Southgate is expected to name his final 26-man England squad on Thursday. England then open their World Cup campaign against Iran on 20 November. Meetings with the USA and Wales follow on 25 and 29 November respectively.
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