Captain Vincent Kompany will miss Manchester City's crunch Premier League clash against Arsenal but the full extent of his latest injury is not yet known.
Kompany was substituted during the early stages of Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League semifinal defeat to Real Madrid having suffered the fifth injury of a heavily disrupted season.
The 30-year-old's problem on this occasion appeared to be a groin strain as opposed to a recurrence of the calf injuries that have dogged his progress and called into question whether he can continue to hold a prominent role in the City squad under Manuel Pellegrini's successor Pep Guardiola next season.
City expects to know how severe the latest setback is for Kompany on Monday, with the centre-back also poised to skipper Belgium at Euro 2016.
Pellegrini insists he has not taken undue risks with the player, whose woes have contributed to an inconsistent campaign at the Etihad Stadium.
"We don’t have the medical examination on Vincent - he's with the doctor," Pellegrini told a pre-match news conference. "On Monday we will know.
"For Vincent it’s an issue for the future - we must talk with the doctor, with the player, with the people who will be in charge of City next year. It's a medical issue.
"Every time he was in the XI he was fit to play, 100 per cent. You can be sure of that."
City's prospects of being a Champions League club when Guardiola arrives from Bayern Munich are likely to hinge on Sunday's result, as it sits three points behind third-place Arsenal and four ahead of Manchester United, which has a game in hand in fifth.
Pellegrini will oversee the final home match of his three-year tenure, which has failed to live up to the promise of a Premier League and League Cup double in 2013-14.
The Chilean added a second League Cup to his trophy haul this season, which he believes will be a qualified success if City is able to secure third place.
"It's a special game because we finish here at home after three intensive years," Pellegrini said. "We've always received support of the fans, so we're really happy with them.
"For me, the second season was the worst - if we can finish in third in this third season it wouldn't be extraordinary but still a good season.
"I will have emotions on Sunday but I prefer not to show them in an external way. As a manager you must try to dominate your emotions. If not the probability of a bad decision is quite high."
Kompany will join Pablo Zabaleta (calf) and David Silva (hamstring) on the sidelines, both of whom will miss the rest of the season, while Aleksandar Kolarov is also out.
Yaya Toure, whose performance on his return from thigh injury at the Santiago Bernabeu was heavily criticised, is available to play.
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