Kalvin Phillips is a doubt for England’s Nations League games against Italy and Hungary after suffering a “severe dead leg” in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Germany.
Phillips started the game at Munich’s Allianz Arena, reforming the midfield partnership with Declan Rice that proved so crucial to England’s success at Euro 2020 last summer.
However, the Leeds United man was involved in a hefty collision with Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck in the opening exchanges and though he tried to continue after receiving treatment, was eventually forced off inside a quarter of an hour.
“It's not ideal in any way shape or form to lose a really important player after 15, 20 minutes,” said Gareth Southgate, whose side now return to England to face Italy at Molineux on Saturday before hosting Hungary at the same ground next Tuesday.
“Hopefully it's not too bad. It's quite a severe dead leg. It’s hard to know how long that will be.”
The knock is the latest blow to Phillips after an injury-disrupted campaign with his club side, though the 26-year-old was able to return towards the back end of the season to help ensure Leeds’ Premier League survival.
The continued progression of Jude Bellingham means Phillips has a fight on his hands to keep his midfield place ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, with the Borussia Dortmund teenager starting Saturday’s defeat in Hungary and replacing his injured teammate in Germany.
Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse and Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher are the other central midfield options at Southgate’s disposal in this squad after he opted to rest Jordan Henderson following Liverpool’s involvement in the Champions League final.
