Phil Foden has admitted he doesn't want to be called up to the England squad as the Manchester City star opened up about his mental health and fitness battles after suffering a dramatic loss of form
17:00, 21 May 2025Updated 17:03, 21 May 2025
Phil Foden
Phil Foden has admitted he doesn't want to be called up by England
Phil Foden wants to be left out of the England squad to work on his mental health and fitness.
The bombshell news comes less than 48 hours hours before Thomas Tuchel names his latest squad for the upcoming games against Andorra and Senegal. Foden has revealed he has been struggling for most of the season with personal issues and injuries.
The attacking midfielder has suffered a dramatic loss of form this season and scored just 10 goals in 44 appearances for Manchester City, after the previous campaign when he was named Premier League Player of the Season and the PFA Players' Player of the Year.
Foden suffered a serious ankle problem in the Manchester derby at the start of April and has been playing through the pain barrier in the last two months. But he reckons he needs several weeks out of the game to get fit again - and has asked Tuchel if he can miss England's next two games.
The 24-year-old said: "It's been a frustrating season for me. I've had a lot of things going on off the pitch mentally. It's one of them, sometimes there's things in life that are bigger than football.
Phil Foden
Phil Foden has endured a woeful season
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"This season I've struggled a little bit. Hopefully come next year I can get my head mentally right, and get back where I left the season before, because I know what I'm capable of doing and the quality I have.
"The club have been so supportive. I can't thank them enough. I know if everything was okay, I'd definitely be better on the field. Sometimes things happen and you have to deal with it and move on.
"Obviously it's a difficult situation for me with the internationals right around the corner. It's something we have to speak about with the club and national team, to see maybe if it's better to rest and get my ankle fully 100% back how I want it.
"I just don't know at the moment, it's a conversation to be had and we'll see what happens. I just need a few weeks off it, without playing football, and obviously I can't get it at the moment. It's a bit frustrating to play with niggles like this.
"A lot of people don't know what football players have to go through, and play with. I've had a lot of ankle pain and playing with it in the last couple of months. Some people don't see what we go through."
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Tuchel will name his squad on Friday morning, for the World Cup qualifier against Andorra in Barcelona on June 7, and home friendly with Senegal at the City Ground three days later.