Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has sent a strong message to one of his players after just recently calling him out for returning from the 2022 FIFA World Cup overweight.
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Upon his return from Qatar, where he played a bench role for England, holding midfielder Kalvin Phillips earned public scrutiny from Guardiola for making his way back from the Middle East in poor shape.
The Spaniard labelled the former Leeds United star "overweight", comments he later backtracked on by telling members of the media that the 27-year-old had the "perfect" body.
Phillips has battled for game time since joining the Citizens at the start of the season, having managed to play just 230 minutes across all competitions so far, with injuries having prevented him from finding momentum.
Guardiola believes it is important that the player pushes Spanish midfielder Rodri for a place in the first team, and has insisted Phillips needs to make his colleague feel the pressure.
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"I am pretty sure he is frustrated when you come to a new club and cannot play," Guardiola said, according to Manchester Evening News.
"But the shoulder is the main thing, after surgery he came back from the World Cup perfectly and now he feels fine, just a question of time, minutes, the amount of games we have we are going to use him.
"He has to fight with Rodri for the benefit of all of us. Rodri cannot sleep and must have the feeling there is someone close to him to do it. He has to."
On Phillips' condition after the World Cup, Guardiola stated that it did not take long for him to recover his fitness and shape.
"I said from day one. When he didn't train for the first game after the World Cup, it was 'I don't want you injured when you are not fit'," he added.
"You are at more risk in training session or in the games. It's better to stay away for a few days and when you are fit or in the condition to train, go.
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"This is what happened after a few days, the weight was perfect and he was back training. Sometimes he is not ready for some niggles or problems, I prefer one day out, you're not going to lose anything."
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