Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips will make his return to the squad for Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash against Chelsea according to Pep Guardiola. 

The Lowdown: Phillips' injury issues

Since Phillips arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Leeds United during the previous summer transfer window, the midfielder has had some injury issues to deal with.

In fact, the Englishman has only played 14 minutes of action for the Citizens across the Premier League and Champions and hasn't made an appearance for the team since September.

Now though, with the Manchester club in midweek action against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup, it appears that the summer recruit will be involved in the squad for the first time in a while.

The Latest: Phillips' involvement vs Chelsea

Speaking after seeing his side beat Fulham 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday, Guardiola had this to say about the Chelsea game and what Phillips' involvement could be in it.

He said: "They [Phillips and Kyle Walker] feel much better, yesterday Kalvin was the second day that he did a full training session with contact with us and he felt good.

"Against Chelsea he will be on the bench, whether to play or not I don’t know but he will be on bench. Kalvin is much better.

The Verdict: A welcome return for City

Even though Phillips has not had too many opportunities to impress at his new club this season, having him in the squad will be a big boost for Guardiola, especially if he's able to get on the pitch and then be available for the weekend's Premier League game against Brentford.

Also, with the World Cup around the corner, being back to full fitness will give the midfielder a good chance of being in the England squad that travels to Qatar.

Moving forward, the ideal scenario would be for Phillips to get some minutes under his belt in midweek and then put himself in contention for a place in the starting XI at the weekend.

Looking beyond that, if he does travel to Qatar, the former Leeds figure will then be hoping to have a successful tournament with his England teammates and then keep his fitness up for the remainder of the season.