Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips says he is “very hopeful” of being involved in England’s World Cup squad after recovering from injury.
Phillips, 26, had shoulder surgery in September which put his place in Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad in doubt.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Phillips will be on the bench against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday (20:00 GMT)
“The shoulder’s perfectly fine now,” Phillips told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Speaking on the Monday Night Club, he added: “I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great.
“I’ve obviously not done it for quite a long time now but I’ve kept my fitness up and I’d like to think I could play 90 minutes.”
On whether he will make England’s World Cup squad, Phillips said: “I’m not too sure yet. I’m very hopeful that I can be involved. We will have to wait and see.”
Phillips has been restricted to three substitute appearances since his £45m summer move from Leeds United, the last of which came against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on 14 September.
While he is set to be on the bench as City host Chelsea in the Carabao Cup – the club’s penultimate match before the World Cup – Guardiola said he did not know if Phillips would feature.
A home match against Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday would represent his final opportunity to play competitive minutes before England’s opener in Qatar against Iran on 21 November.
“Pep has been great and he has spoken to me quite a lot. It is part of football and he understands that,” Phillips said.
“After my first full contact session the other day he said he would hopefully try and get me minutes against Chelsea.
“[Following surgery] I spoke to Gareth and told him about my situation. I said I understood if he didn’t select me but he reassured me that ‘as long as you’re fit enough and you prove you’re progressing well, there’s always a chance you will be called up’,” Phillips added.
“I’ve done everything in my power to be as fit as possible and hopefully I will be involved.”
