Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna is hopeful that Manchester City don't recall midfielder Kalvin Phillips from his season-long loan spell.

The 31-cap England international joined the Blues this summer in order to get his career back on track following two years of limited game time with Pep Guardiola's men. 

The four-in-a-row champions have seen star midfielder Rodri suffer a long-term knee injury though, raising fears that Phillips could be recalled. 

Asked if that was a possibility, McKenna replied: “The honest answer is I’ve not checked. I don’t think there is (a recall clause), but I can't tell you 100%.  

“I know the plan from our side, from his side, from Man city’s side is that he has a season with us and gets back to playing regularly. It’s about him helping our team and us helping him build back to a good place in his career. I’m sure that remains the plan on all sides.” 

Phillips started Town’s Premier League games against Fulham and Brighton, but sat out last weekend’s 1-1 draw at Southampton with a minor thigh injury sustained in training. 

Asked if the 28-year-old was available for Sunday’s game against Aston Villa at Portman Road, McKenna said: “Kalvin has trained with the group today, so we’ll make a judgement on how many minutes he’ll be available for.” 

He added: “Nathan (Broadhead) has been training well for the last week, so we’ve almost got a fully fit squad.”