Eight weeks of patient, painstaking preparation for Kalvin Phillips, nursing a pinned dislocated shoulder to make it to Qatar, was almost crushed by a 5kg weight on the eve of the World Cup.
The Manchester City midfielder, a key part of England’s Euro 2020 midfield, had been sweating on his World Cup hopes ever since his shoulder dislocated in September and it became clear that he would need an operation to prevent it doing so again.
That left precious little time to be fit and firing for Qatar – but with the help of City physios, Phillips managed to rehabilitate the shoulder well enough to come on in the Carabao Cup win against Chelsea before leaving for Qatar.