- Pep Guardiola says player returned from Qatar out of condition
- ‘He didn’t arrive in the condition to do training and to play’
Pep Guardiola has said he left out Kalvin Phillips from Thursday’s Carabao Cup win over Liverpool because the player was “overweight” and added that he will speak to the midfielder privately.
After being part of England’s World Cup squad the 27-year-old was given time off but when he returned to City was not in the condition to train, according to the manager. Phillips’s fellow England squad members in Qatar – Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and John Stones – all featured against Liverpool while Kyle Walker was an unused sub, but the former Leeds midfielder did not even make the matchday squad.
