Manchester City are still hopeful that Kevin de Bruyne will be fit for the FA Cup Final.
The Belgium international midfielder has been restricted to rehabilitation work since damaging a hamstring in the victory over Tottenham a fortnight ago, and will once again be sidelined when his Blues host Leicester on Monday night.
And Pep Guardiola's Treble chasers won’t take any risks with the 27-year-old in a must-win Premier League finale away to Brighton next Sunday either, even though that match could decide their title battle with Liverpool.
But De Bruyne is confident a season which has seen him suffer two serious knee injuries as well as a couple of hamstring problems, combining to limit him to only 11 top-flight starts, will end at Wembley on Saturday week when City face Watford.
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De Bruyne missed the Carabao Cup Final win over Liverpool three years ago through injury and is desperate to avoid more Wembley woe.
It is thought the muscle is strained rather than torn, but it has been slow to respond to treatment.
Speaking before his latest injury, De Bruyne — City's Player of the Year last season as they blew their rivals away with a record-breaking 100-point campaign — revealed the mental strain that comes with being injured almost constantly since helping Belgium finish third at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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“I feel sometimes my season had double the length of other players, because every time you need to be in, you need to make almost double the hours," he said.
"You never have a day off, because you need to work on your recovery. It’s more draining than to play. A lot of the time you’re alone, but you have to do it.
“Last year, I could do it every three days for almost 60 or 70 games. I can’t reach that tally anymore."
