Guardiola said: ”I don’t know what will happen to Kalvin Phillips. He has good character, I’m so sorry I have not picked him.

‘I visualise my team and select a team and I struggle to see him.’

He also gave an update on Kevin De Bruyne.

Pep Guardiola says he is ‘so sorry’ for Kalvin Phillips, who hasonly started once in all competititons this season

Kevin De Bruyne was injured on the first day of the season but has been named in City’s squad for the Club World Cup

De Bruyne is back on the grass but hasn’t yet trained with Manchester City following his injury, Pep Guardiola has confirmed.

The Belgian was named in City’s Club World Cup team for later this month but his manager said that he might not be ready to play in time for it.

De Bruyne has been out injured ever since suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury against Burnley on the opening day of the season in August.

Guardiola said: ‘[He] started to run on the pitch but hasn’t trained once with us. Maybe [Club World Cup] will be a little bit early but I don’t know.’

‘Kevin will be back when he is, we don’t rush him and when he’s back we will welcome him with open arms. We were top not so long ago but now we played Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs & Villa – top teams.

Speaking about his team’s wider form, he suggested that the club needed a jolt.

City are winless in four and lost their last match 1-0 against Aston Villa but have had a difficult run of fixtures.

He said: ‘We have to embrace the challenge. The club maybe needed a shake. It’s not about complacency. It’s about appreciating what we have to do to win and how hard it is. We have to hit our high standards. We need to lose sometimes to realise what we have to do.

‘We have to go to Luton and adapt to how they play. I expect moments like this always. I didn’t expect four games without a win. Villa are a fantastic team right now. I had the feeling they would be a contender. The criticism we are getting is understandable.

‘It’s too simplistic to say the absence of Rodri is the difference. He’s a great player but we have less creativity and I don’t think that’s just Rodri being missing.’

Guardiola feels that the criticism his team are getting is ‘understandable’ but has taken a positive approach after their difficult spell