Gary Neville has made a “prediction” about Phil Foden in an England shirt during their upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
For Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, the international break has come at the worst possible time.
Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp’s sides are in three competitions, while Mikel Arteta and Co. are in two.
While losing Kyle Walker or John Stones to an injury during the international break would be a massive blow for City, if Phil Foden sustains a knock, that may be the biggest absence, considering how incredibly influential he has been at the Etihad Stadium this season.
Gary Neville has made an interesting “prediction” about Phil Foden for England during the international break
Manchester City potentially have the toughest title run-in out of all the three contenders, having to play tricky teams like Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion in the forthcoming weeks.
The Sky Blues also have Real Madrid awaiting them in the last eight of the Champions League and Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final.
As a result, Gary Neville has predicted Phil Foden to potentially pull out of the friendly against Belgium for England, keeping in mind how his boyhood club have well and truly entered the business end of the season.
“I’ll make a prediction that either Declan [Rice], [Bukayo] Saka, [Phil] Foden, I’ve got a good feeling they’ll put out the second game [against Belgium]”, he said on The Overlap’s Stick To Football.
Neville added, “Or they won’t play and Gareth [Southgate] will do a deal with them.”
Ideal for Manchester City if Phil Foden is rested
Only time will tell whether Gary Neville is proven right and Phil Foden is excluded from the starting XI by England boss Gareth Southgate against either Brazil or Belgium.
It seems unlikely that Foden will be benched in both games, considering the brilliant vein of form he is.
But the 23-year-old being rested in either of the fixtures would be ideal for Manchester City as a potential injury to him could genuinely derail their season.
On the other hand, a rested Foden could be fresh in their forthcoming games, especially against Arsenal and play an instrumental role putting them in pole position to win the Premier League once again in particular.