Leeds United defender Luke Ayling has told Kalvin Phillips on Instagram ‘good to see’ after he returned to action for Manchester City during their 2-0 win over Chelsea in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, whilst Barry Douglas posted that it was a ‘lovely sight’.
Ahead of Gareth Southgate naming his England squad for the 2022 World Cup, the former Leeds star has returned just at the right time ahead of what will be an important day for many across the country.
Ever since Phillips left Leeds for Man City in the summer, he has only managed 53 minutes of football, and 40 of those minutes came last night.
Will that be enough for Gareth Southgate to select the defensive-minded midfielder ahead of naming his squad on Thursday afternoon? For the Three Lions boss, it probably will be because he has enough credit in the bank.
Either way, Phillips posted on IG ‘what a feeling to be back on the pitch’, with his former Leeds teammate posting in the comments section ‘good to see’, whilst former Holland international Nigel de Jong added ‘back on the pitch to stay’.
ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
There will be some out there who think Phillips shouldn’t be selected because he simply hasn’t played enough games this season.
That would be a valid point because there’s no way he is fit enough to start regular games, and that at a major tournament.
But it wouldn’t be a surprise if Southgate does decide to take the hard-hitting midfielder to Qatar, alongside the likes of Harry Maguire, who have also had limited game time.
Whilst the Manchester United defender, if selected, will probably start against Iran, it might be a case of watching Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice starting ahead of Phillips for England’s opener in 11 days.
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