The possibility of Kalvin Phillips needing shoulder surgery is undoubtedly a hassle for Manchester City, but it is a much greater one for England.
The timing for Phillips personally could not have been worse, but England manager Gareth Southgate will give him every opportunity to be ready for the World Cup.
Phillips will have nine weeks to get fit enough to resume starting in midfield before England’s campaign begins on November 21. Phillips is scheduled to have surgery in the following days.
His City career has hardly begun; he has played in just 14 minutes across all competitions. When signing the contract at the Etihad Stadium, he was aware that he would, at least initially, assist Rodri. However, due to injuries, including that damaged right shoulder, he has had very few chances to demonstrate his full potential.
The 26-year-old missed a few games in the beginning of this season due to a muscle ailment, but on August 24, after the Premier League season had begun, he was given the chance to play against Barcelona in a friendly, he hurt his shoulder.
After missing a few more games, he was able to make some admittedly very brief cameos in City’s two Champions League games earlier this month. He had previously stated in private that it was not very serious.
However, after what was allegedly regular contact during a practice match, the shoulder dislocated again during training last week.
“With the shoulder, if it happens more than three or four times the doctors say that surgery may be necessary,” Pep Guardiola said after City’s win at Wolves on Saturday.
About what to do, there had been some uncertainty. The more a shoulder dislocates, the more likely it is to happen again in the future, thus it is a long-standing issue that needs to be fixed, but the timing is obviously not ideal.
His shoulder dislocated for the first time during a Leeds vs. Wolves home game in October 2020. Nevertheless, against West Brom on the penultimate day of the season, a serious injury occurred. Even though there was a crowd at Elland Road for the first time following the COVID-19 lockdowns, the fact that it occurred during a tackle at the very end of a game that was nothing more than a dead rubber was especially frustrating for him.
Neither time did he undergo surgery. An operation was never thought of as a possibility following the injury suffered against the Wolves. He would not have considered surgery since it would have prevented him from competing because the injury versus West Brom occurred close before the European Championship. Leeds might have scheduled him to have surgery if it were not for that.
Phillips and the Leeds team knew, however, that he would eventually require the procedure. Even though he was taking time off to heal from a protracted hamstring injury last season, it was thought that he might need surgery.
He and City are now hoping that he can heal in time for the World Cup. According to reports, Phillips was hesitant to get surgery because he knew he had missed a lot of last season due to injury and that Southgate might not have selected him anyhow.
Last Thursday saw his inclusion in the England team, and Southgate is a great supporter of the midfielder.
Kalvin Phillips will participate in the FIFA World Cup and play for England in Group B in Qatar.
