Phillips: ‘Kyle pushed me to make World Cup’
KALVIN Phillips has admitted he wouldn’t have been in as good a position to make the England World Cup squad without help from City team-mate Kyle Walker.
Both Phillips and Walker underwent surgery on separate issues just six weeks before the World Cup, putting their involvement in serious doubt. However, Phillips recovered from his shoulder surgery with a week before the England squad was announced, and while Walker wasn’t quite ready by that point, he was deemed fit enough to play a part in Qatar.
Both sat on the bench for England’s first two group games, before Walker started against Wales on Tuesday and Phillips came off the bench and grabbed an assist in the 3-0 win.
Reflecting on his first England outing of the season, Phillips admitted that if he hadn’t been working with Walker to get back to fitness in time, he may not have been ready for the World Cup.
“We literally were in every day together, [John] Stonesy was injured as well before that,” Phillips told England’s media team.
“Probably the reason why I pushed so much was because I saw how hard Kyle was working and he pushed me a little bit more whenever I got into the gym and training. He was like ‘let’s get it done, let’s get it done.’
“Without Kyle being there to guide me through that period I probably wouldn’t have been as confident in myself making the World Cup squad.
“Kyle is one of those players who doesn’t need to do anything. He’s naturally gifted with athleticism, he’s strong and rapid as well. Whenever he goes into the gym, does one rep and doesn’t need to do it again. He’ll keep going with different things. It was a good laugh when we were there, he’s quite a joker in the team. We had a good time, it was a tough time, but a good time.”
Now Phillips has made his return for both club and country, he is keen to kick on and make up for lost time.
He said: “My World Cup debut [vs Wales] hit me a lot more afterward. At the time I was focusing on the game, I hadn’t played much anyway so I was focussing on making sure I come on and don’t do anything wrong.
“When I got on I tried working hard, we got another goal when I came on and it make me feel better. It was a nice moment, having all my family and friends there to see it. Hopefully I can play a little bit more.”