Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is "very hopeful" of being included in England's World Cup squad.
The 26-year-old completed a £45m move from Leeds United in the summer, but a shoulder injury has restricted him to three substitute appearances.
Having spent nearly two months on the sidelines, Phillips is expected to be on the bench for City's EFL cup tie against Chelsea on Wednesday.
Ahead of his imminent return to action, the England international has been speaking about his recovery from shoulder surgery.
Phillips told BBC Radio 5 Live: "The shoulder's perfectly fine now. "I have gone through a seven-week process of recovering as fast as I possibly can for the World Cup. Everything is going great.
"I've obviously not done it for quite a long time now but I've kept my fitness up and I'd like to think I could play 90 minutes."
Commenting on his World Cup hopes, he said: "I'm not too sure yet. I'm very hopeful that I can be involved. We will have to wait and see.
"Pep has been great and he has spoken to me quite a lot. It is part of football and he understands that. After my first full contact session the other day he said he would hopefully try and get me minutes against Chelsea.
"[Following surgery] I spoke to Gareth and told him about my situation. I said I understood if he didn't select me but he reassured me that 'as long as you're fit enough and you prove you're progressing well, there's always a chance you will be called up'.
"I've done everything in my power to be as fit as possible and hopefully I will be involved."
While Phillips could be involved against Chelsea in midweek, Southgate is expected to name his 26-man England squad on Thursday November 10.
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