Man City star Kevin De Bruyne may have medial ligament injury - Pellegrini

Kevin De Bruyne may have
suffered medial ligament damage in Manchester
City's 3-1 Capital One Cup victory over Everton,
Manuel Pellegrini has said.

De Bruyne came off the bench to level the tie on
aggregate before setting up Sergio Aguero to
score the winning goal, which saw City book their
place in the final against Liverpool on Feb. 28.

However, the Belgium international was
stretchered off in the final moments of the game
and appears set for a lengthy absence, although
City boss Pellegrini is hopeful that he will not be
ruled out for the rest of the season.
"We will see tomorrow," Pellegrini told his

postmatch news conference. "The doctor thinks
he has a problem in his medial ligament but it is
impossible before tomorrow.

"It is very difficult to know in this moment but I
am optimistic he will not be out for the rest of the
season. It is not a cruciate ligament, it is the
medial ligament."

De Bruyne joined City from Wolfsburg in August
for a reported £54 million and has quickly
established himself as a leading star in Pellegrini's
squad.

He made a huge impact when he came on as a
substitute in the 67th minute as the two-legged
tie swung in City's favour.

Pellegrini added: "I always said Kevin is a very
important player in the whole season. He didn't
start because we have to play nine games in 27
days.

"I think it is important to have a very good
rotation of the squad. The minutes he played he
did very well."

Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles has issued an
apology for his response to the injury.
He wrote on Twitter: "I would like to apologise to
Kevin De Bruyne for my reaction to his injury. In
the heat of the moment I didn't realise he was
badly hurt.

"I wish him all the best and a speedy recovery."
Meanwhile, Pellegrini has said he expects an
exciting final against Liverpool, who reached the
final on Tuesday night with a penalty shootout
victory over Stoke City.

"First of all to play a final in Wembley is always a
special stadium with a special atmosphere,"
Pellegrini said.

"If you have two very good teams as Liverpool
and Manchester City it will be a brilliant final.

We
have one month, it is important to focus on the
FA Cup and then two important games in the
Premier League."