Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed that Kalvin Phillips is 'ready' to make his first start for the club against Southampton in the EFL Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old midfielder has endured a difficult start to life at the Etihad Stadium since leaving boyhood club Leeds United in a £42m deal over the summer.
Phillips has been hampered with injuries during the first half of this season and has been reduced to just six substitute appearances across all competitions.
The England international underwent shoulder surgery in September and only just recovered in time to represent the Three Lions at the 2022 World Cup, featuring twice off the bench in Qatar.
Phillips was then deemed to have returned to City "overweight" by Guardiola and he subsequently missed the EFL Cup fourth-round win over Liverpool on December 22.
Guardiola stated last weekend that Phillips must be "perfect" if he is to play at the highest level and believes that the midfielder's minor setback could be a "good lesson for him in the future".
"He wants to change," Guardiola told reporters as quoted by The Guardian. "It will maybe be a good lesson for him in the future. A footballer has to be perfect over 12 months. Perfect.
"Even in the holidays, he has to be perfect. You have to be ready because this level is so demanding. You have to [be able to] play three games [a week], you have to be fit. If you are not fit, then nothing. But I said last week, he [has] improved his level."
Guardiola has since addressed the media ahead of Wednesday's EFL Cup clash at St Mary's and has suggested that Phillips is poised to start his first game for the Citizens pending a final check in training.
"He's always ready. Of course he needed time for some aspects but he's ready and we are delighted about that," the Spanish boss said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"We have to see [if he will start] but I think he's an intelligent player. Normally a holding midfielder. He is so clever. He has an incredible work ethic.
"He was educated at Leeds with Marcelo [Bielsa] the commitment of every training session and every game, so I don't have doubts, but there are patterns and movements and you need game time. He arrived and had injuries which meant he couldn't be there, but step by step he will get there."
Phillips has featured off the bench in City's last two matches against Chelsea, playing the final four minutes in the narrow 1-0 Premier League win last Thursday before playing the final 32 minutes of Sunday's 4-0 FA Cup third-round victory.
Guardiola is keen to give ever-present lynchpin Rodri a rest during a hectic fixture schedule, which could therefore see Phillips step into the starting lineup for the first time against Southampton.
City's only injury concern ahead of their trip to St Mary's is with centre-back Ruben Dias, who remains sidelined with a hamstring problem that he sustained at the World Cup with Portugal.
The Citizens are looking to reach the semi-finals of the EFL Cup for the seventh time in the last 10 seasons with a victory over a Southampton side who currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League table. body check tags ::
