Pep Guardiola Makes U-Turn On Kalvin Phillips' Weight Issues: 'His Body Is Perfect'

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has made a U-turn on midfielder Kalvin Phillips' weight issues.

After previously claiming that Phillips had gained weight during the recently-concluded FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Guardiola now said the English star has a "perfect" and "sexy" body.

Phillips suffered a dislocated shoulder in August and has so far made four appearances for Manchester City this season. The defensive midfielder, whose availability was doubtful for the World Cup due to the injury, eventually made it to Gareth Southgate's side in Qatar, but only clinched less than 50 minutes on the field across two matches.

When the 2022-23 campaign resumed last week, post the World Cup, Guardiola omitted Phillips from his League Cup's Round of 16 clash with Liverpool, saying that the Englishman had returned to his club duty carrying some extra weight.

"He is not injured. He arrived overweight (from the World Cup). He didn't arrive in the condition for the training sessions and to play," Guardiola earlier said.

However, Guardiola included Phillips in his side's trip to Leeds for an away league game Wednesday. While the midfielder remained an unused substitute in City's 3-1 win, Guardiola recently assured that Phillips would soon receive more minutes as he had returned to shape in no time.

"He has the perfect body, so sexy!" the Spanish boss told reporters after City's victory at Elland Road.

"We will see for the weekend. He has spent the first part of the season out with surgery to arrive for the World Cup - and did everything to get to the World Cup. It's not just about just being fit, you also have to understand what you want to do, the movements, etc. But I'm happy that yesterday, for example, Kalvin trained really well and sooner or later he will play," Guardiola added.

In the 3-1 win over Leeds, Rodri scored a goal, while in-form striker Erling Haaland netted a brace, which took his Premier League goals tally to 20. The Norwegian forward became the fastest player to hit the 20-goal mark in Premier League history. Overall in the 2022-23 season, Haaland has netted 26 goals and three assists in 20 competitive appearances for City, a club he joined in the summer of 2022 from Borussia Dortmund.