JACK GAUGHAN: Kalvin Phillips has endured a NIGHTMARE start at City career after his £42m Leeds move

There has been quite a bit of bad luck in the first six months of Kalvin Phillips’ Manchester City career. The injuries started in August and have plagued him ever since.

That Pep Guardiola banished him from training for coming back overweight is a completely separate issue.

It got off to a relatively bright start, with Phillips entering preseason while on tour in America. On the pitch, he flitted between midfield and center half in a way that surely won Guardiola’s approval.

Kalvin Phillips has been banned from training after returning to Manchester City overweight

Bought for £42m from Leeds, the 2021 England Player of the Year knew he would initially be a substitute for Rodri, with City also confident of either playing them as a pair or pushing Phillips to a number 8 position when necessary.

Everyone was on the same page. Phillips would have to prove that he belonged to a team that had lifted another Premier League title weeks before.

He was affable in a dressing room packed with fellow England internationals, diligently preparing hot drinks for the veteran players as the new guy, a scene that plays out in offices across the country.

Phillips was initially brought in as a backup to Rodri in hopes of eventually playing alongside him.

There was no great pressure from City to start his time at the club. The main men were fit and Phillips had a cameo appearance on the opening weekend at West Ham, missing out on the bench for the next win against Bournemouth due to a ‘small’. And so it began.

City went to Barcelona for a charity friendly in mid-August and the Camp Nou seemed to be the root of the 27-year-old’s problems.

He suffered a dislocated shoulder, but City believed he could handle himself carefully and weren’t worried. With rest, and lack of contact, he would heal. The priority was to have Phillips back for when the schedule got hectic.

The 27-year-old joined the Etihad from Leeds for £42m a few weeks after City lifted the 2021 title.

He dipped his toe with a couple of Champions League appearances, only for training disaster to strike. Phillips dislocated the same shoulder. Surgery was the only option and it became a race to make Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.

He had played just 54 minutes of competitive soccer this season prior to that announcement.

Fast forward a few weeks and Phillips, who pushed his way to Qatar and ultimately played just 40 minutes, returned to City “overweight”, in Guardiola’s words.

That is unlikely to constitute bad luck after a short break after international duty, when the players were left alone. Phillips was told he would not train and would not guarantee a place in the squad for Thursday’s cup win over Liverpool.

The former Leeds midfielder only had 40 minutes in Qatar despite working hard to be fit in time

Phillips has a job on his hands to convince Guardiola he’s ready, with a return to Elland Road on the horizon next week. The last time City were there in April, Phillips was the only Leeds player to leave with the credit of a 4-0 defeat. A physically solid display made the champions insist that he could add to his squad.

What has happened since then seems like something of a nightmare and has only gotten worse with the events of the last few days. All Premier League players are weighed daily. The scales are at the doors when they enter and in the dining rooms. There is no hiding.

“When he is ready, he will play, because we need him a lot,” Guardiola said. When asked to expand, he added: “It’s a private conversation with Kalvin.”

Pep Guardiola has fallen out with players in the past, though they are often quickly forgotten.

Guardiola has a history of calling out overweight players. Samir Nasri was sacked almost as soon as the manager took over in 2016, kicked out of the first-team group and managing just 15 minutes of action before a sale to Sevilla. Sergio Agüero tipped the balance once that season and was ruled out of a crucial league match.

The rules have been in place for six and a half years. Each player has a target weight range, allowing some leeway, but Guardiola hits hard on anyone who breaches the upper limit. Aguero weighed 80 kg. He was 100 g over, and the ax fell. Now Phillips has suffered a similar fate.

This might not be a major problem. A return to the City squad to face Leeds would not be a huge surprise. Personal issues between the players and Guardiola are often quickly forgotten. However, for Phillips, this is certainly an unwanted distraction.

Guardiola once dropped Sergio Aguero after he reported 100g over his 80kg weight limit.