Pep Guardiola has told Kalvin Phillips he needs to be in ‘perfect condition’ all year round after calling out the midfielder for being overweight following his return from the World Cup. The 27-year-old came on as a late substitute against Chelsea in mid-week for his first match action since his return from Qatar and could now be set to start against the same opposition on Sunday in the FA Cup.
Guardiola was scathing about Phillips’ fitness when he returned to Manchester after representing England at the World Cup. The Spaniard left the midfielder out of his squad completely for the first game following the tournament against Liverpool in the League Cup. He explained his decision after the match, telling reporters: “He’s not injured. He arrived overweight. I don’t know [why].”
Phillips returned to the squad for the following game against former club Leeds and came on for a late five minutes cameo during the 1-0 win over Chelsea in mid-week. Guardiola has now sent another warning to the player over his condition as he weighs up whether or not to give him his first start in the FA Cup today.
“He wants to change his mind about the way he is going to play and it will maybe be a good lesson for him for the future,” he explained when asked about Philips fitness. “A footballer has to be perfect over 12 months, perfect. Even on holidays, he has to be perfect. You can enjoy, you can do whatever you want, but you have to be ready because at this level it is so demanding
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Pep Guardiola has once again sent Manchester City star Kalvin Phillips a warning over his fitness. (Image: GETTY)
“You have to play three games, you have to be fit. If you are not fit, then nothing. But in the last week and days he improved his level.
“I don’t know if he will start against Chelsea but for sure, in the Carabao Cup, he is going to play. Against Chelsea, we will see but I had a feeling last week, he was back, you know, I had a good feeling.”
However, Guardiola admitted he felt sympathy for Phillips in his quest to stay fit given the number of injury issues he has faced over the last 12 months. The 27-year-old spent large spells of the year on the sidelines for Leeds before missing the final two months before the World Cup with a shoulder issue.
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Kalvin Phillips returned to match action for Manchester City against Chelsea in mid-week. (Image: GETTY)
“Listen, Kalvin last season at Leeds was injured for a long part of the season. This is the truth,” the 51-year-old said. “He came and after could not train, struggled with an operation on a shoulder, so every time, training was out.
“He fought to go to the World Cup, he got there and that was a long period without playing. In competition you need rhythm but it was not there for five or six months. But quickly we needed him like we need all the players, they need rest, so we need Kalvin and we try to fix it.”
Source: newsnow
