Kalvin Phillips reveals key role he is still playing at Leeds United despite injury absence

Kalvin Phillips is still finding a way to have a vital impact at Leeds United.
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The England international is used to leaving a presence on-pitch at Elland Road, clattering into advancing forwards and spreading passes around to start attacks.

Phillips, though, has been left watching on from the LS11 stands since limping off against Brentford in early December.

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A hamstring injury - which required surgery - has ruled him out until March and has been another major blow to Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team ranks amid a treatment-room crisis like no other.

Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips celebrates with teammates. Pic: GettyLeeds United's Kalvin Phillips celebrates with teammates. Pic: Getty
Leeds United's Kalvin Phillips celebrates with teammates. Pic: Getty

Leeds have battled on regardless, missing no fewer than nine players last time out, using a mix of senior and youth players in the Premier League - sitting 15th amid the current top-flight break, seven points above the relegation zone.

Phillips is a player known for being at the beating heart of his boyhood team, providing the balance to United’s defence and attack while often displaying a reassuring smile in front of the television cameras.

Though his absence has been felt hugely out on the pitch over the last eight weeks, he has tried to continue his key role among team-mates as best he can behind closed doors.

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“It’s just being good around the training ground,” Phillips told The Yorkshire Evening Post of keeping up morale.

“Obviously I have been out for a while and you can see me getting frustrated sometimes in the physio room and in the gym.

“But, whenever I am around the lads, I try to make them happy and make them smile.

“It’s just about keeping them happy and getting the banter going. I’ve always had confidence in us. We’ve got a good team but it has been a difficult season. I think, with the last result, if we had won that then it would’ve been a little bit better.

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“I knew that this season would be a lot more difficult than the last.

“The teams have all played against us, they know what we’re about. They know what we do. I knew it was always going to be difficult.

“Through difficult times we always try to get together and work even harder.”

Two wins around the turn of the year over Burnley and West Ham eased Bielsa’s relegation worries.

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For Phillips, he was left sweating over whether he would be able to earn back his spot in the team following the re-emergence of Adam Forshaw and Robin Koch as midfield options for his head coach.

Defeat to Newcastle, though, saw cause for concern rise again in West Yorkshire.

Leeds have returned to training in recent days at Thorp Arch in preparation for a trip to face Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on February 9 - a match which will come after a break of 18 days between fixtures for the Whites.

Among the club’s fans, there has been an air of uncertainty after the January transfer window came and went without a single senior addition.

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Players in-house, meanwhile, have remained on an even keel during the ups and downs this season, despite the rising anxiety levels outside the four walls of the dressing room.

“We’ve always had good spirit throughout the season, no matter how many games we’ve lost or what score we’ve lost by - we’ve always had good spirit,” Phillips added over the team’s belief remaining intact.

“The lads are still in good spirits now even after the loss to Newcastle. We just know we need to go on a little run now [in the Premier League], which will do us good.

“I think every game from now until the end of the season is massive for us. I know if we go on a little run you never know, if we’d have won against Newcastle we’d have been up to 12th or 11th, which would’ve been nice.

“There’s always the next game; we’ll just focus on that.”