Pep Guardiola offers frustrated explanation for Kalvin Phillips absence against Liverpool

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed he left midfielder Kalvin Phillips out of Thursday’s squad to face Liverpool because the Englishman returned from the World Cup ‘unfit to train’.

Phillips has played just one minute of Premier League action this season – at the end of City’s season-opener against West Ham – before a shoulder injury left him fearing for his chances of making England’s World Cup squad.

After a 40-minute return in the Carabao Cup, Phillips was included in Gareth Southgate’s squad and he went on to make two appearances at the World Cup, coming off the bench against both Senegal and Wales for a combined 40 minutes.

However, he was completely left out of City’s squad which beat Liverpool on Thursday, and after the game, Guardiola offered a blunt explanation as to why.

“Kalvin Phillips is not fit. He did not arrive in the best condition to train and play,” the boss said after the game.

The boss offered no further information on Phillips’ fitness but did confirm City’s fears about centre-back Ruben Dias, who also missed the game after picking up a hamstring injury while away at the World Cup with Portugal.

“Ruben has a hamstring from the last game in the World Cup and he is out,” Guardiola said.

Reports have suggested that Dias is facing around a month on the sidelines, which means he could miss Premier League clashes with Chelsea and Manchester United ahead of a race to prove his fitness ahead of a trip to Tottenham on February 5.