Pep Guardiola has revealed Kalvin Phillips is over his weight issues after the World Cup, but the £45million midfielder is being held back while he comes to terms with Manchester City's style of play.
The City boss said Phillips had returned from the World Cup and his subsequent 10-day break "overweight" and was initially unable to train with his teammates, but he was back on the bench for the trip to former club Leeds on Wednesday night.
Guardiola joked that Phillips, who was on the receiving end of some friendly jibes from Leeds fans as he warmed up, now had "the perfect body" and said he had impressed in training on Tuesday.
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But the 27-year-old has played just 57 minutes for City since moving from Leeds in the summer and only two of those have been in the Premier League, with a shoulder problem disrupting the first half of the season.
That means the midfielder is still picking up City's style during training sessions, but Guardiola wants him to be ready to slot into the team as soon as possible to ease the burden on Rodri.
"Kalvin had been in the first part of the season out, had surgery to arrive to the World Cup. He did everything to get to the World Cup," he said.
"It’s not just about being fit. He has to understand what we want to do; the movements and many things, as quick as possible. Rodri cannot play all the games.
"I am happy that yesterday he trained really well and we are so happy for that and I am pretty sure sooner or later he will start to come in."
One player who won't be available against Everton on New Year's Eve is Julian Alvarez, with the World Cup winner only returning to training at the start of 2023.
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