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Kalvin Phillips will undergo surgery to solve a shoulder problem and this injury could rule him out of the upcoming World Cup.

The midfielder has made only three substitute appearances for Manchester City and when Guardiola was asked about the player’s absence from the Wolves games, the manager told the press about the surgery.

“It’s a problem with his shoulder again,” Guardiola said after the Wolves match(h/t Fotmob). “Maybe he will need surgery in the next days.

“It will be, not long, but a little bit longer because he needs [surgery]. Every time, it is out and it is out, and the doctors say that when you are out three or four times with the shoulder, the only solution is to have surgery.

“In a good way he could arrive at the World Cup. I think so. But I am not a doctor. The doctor says the only solution right now is to do what we have to do.”

Is Kalvin Phillips going to miss the World Cup?

Phillips joined Manchester City from Leeds United will a lot of high hopes but the England international has had a very rocky start to his career at the Etihad.

He’s yet to start a game for City and to date, he’s played only a single minute of Premier League football for the club.

Thanks to this surgery, he will now be facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup and even if he comes back in time, we highly doubt if he will get a chance to play in Qatar.

He’s hardly gotten any game time this campaign and now due to the surgery, he won’t be able to train as well.

Who is the one likely to replace Kalvin Phillips?

The upcoming Nations League games will give us a good indication of what will Southgate’s Plan B be.

As things stand, Jude Bellingham and James Ward-Prowse are the obvious choices to partner Declan Rice but someone like Eric Dier can also play in defensive midfield. Dier has been brilliant as the central defender for Tottenham but he’s played as a CDM for most of his top-flight career.

Another thing to keep in mind would the formation that Gareth Southgate intends to use.

If the England boss wants to use a 3-4-2-1 system then someone like the experienced Mason Mount can also play in the central role while players like Foden and Sterling operate in the more advanced areas.

Mount has been massively underwhelming in the playmaker’s role for Chelsea this season so pushing him further down the pitch can actually work in favour of England.

Kalvin Phillips was brilliant in the Euro so he is definitely going to be a miss for England(if he is out of the World Cup) however, based on current form, the Man City man shouldn’t come close to the starting XI, even if he is 100% fit and available.

Read: Five England players who could lose their place in the World Cup squad.