Pep Guardiola kills Man City hopes of 'unbelievable guy' Kalvin Phillips despite forgotten midfielder making return in last round of Carabao Cup

Phillips’ time at the Etihad Stadium has been incredibly underwhelming. After arriving from Leeds United in 2022 for £45 million ($61m), he managed just 12 appearances in his debut season. Guardiola then sent him out on loan, first to West Ham United, where he endured a nightmare spell marked by a costly penalty and a red card in his first few outings, and later to Ipswich Town, where he ended up suffering relegation and appeared in 19 matches for the Tractor Boys. His exile left many assuming his City career was finished for good.

The midfielder was told to find a new club but his massive salary and existing contract, which runs until 2028, proved to be a hindrance as he was unable to secure a move away this summer. On September 24, Phillips appeared for City for the first time in 645 days as he came on as a substitute in the final seven minutes of their 2-0 win over Huddersfield in a Carabao Cup third-round clash. 

Ahead of another Carabao Cup fixture against Swansea on Wednesday, Guardiola confirmed that the 29-year-old midfielder won't feature in his starting lineup, although he might be part of the travelling squad.

Speaking to reporters, the Spaniard said: "For a start no but maybe he will travel with us. He is a player for the team, the squad. He is coming back, he trains with us, we treat him like another player. The decision of whether he plays or not belongs to me. He is always an unbelievable guy. It is a joy to have him in the locker room."

City will continue to miss their key midfielder and former Ballon d'Or winner Rodri, who suffered a thigh injury after recovering from ACL. Star striker Erling Haaland also picked up a knock against Aston Villa last weekend as he painfully collided with the post.

Providing an update on his squad and the injury problems, Guardiola said: "Khusa [Abdukodir Khusanov] is ready to play a few minutes tomorrow and Rodri is still not. So [it] is getting better, training with us partially. But, of course, after what happened two times with the muscular injuries we are going to see how he is this week. Erling, I didn’t see him today but it was a knock and day by day is better. But now we train this afternoon and will know more exactly how he feels."

While Haaland might not have suffered a serious injury after his late collision against Unai Emery's side, the City boss could still opt to make personnel changes for the League Cup in midweek. City travel to Swansea on Wednesday as they look to book their spot in the quarter-finals. 

Both Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki featured from the bench at Villa Park at the weekend, the former coming on in the 84th minute and the latter replacing fellow summer signing Tijjani Reijnders in the 76th minute. The duo have scored just one league goal between them this season, owing to an injury-hit start to the campaign, and City need the pair to start pulling their weight in front of goal to ease the scoring burden on Haaland.

After the Swansea clash, City will play Bournemouth and Liverpool in two crucial Premier League fixtures, while they will also face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League before the international break. The Cityzens are currently sixth in the Premier League after the Aston Villa loss and are now six points behind table-toppers Arsenal.