Pep Guardiola has confirmed Kyle Walker will not play for Manchester City before the World Cup and that Kalvin Phillips has only an outside chance of doing so, but said each was optimistic of being fit for England should Gareth Southgate name them in his 26-man squad.
Walker has been out with a groin problem since 2 October, and Phillips’s shoulder injury was sustained on 14 September. Southgate considers them automatic choices when fit and with Chelsea’s Reece James, another of his preferred right-backs, out until after the group stage, the manager faces a dilemma regarding how many players not 100% he can take to Qatar.
