Hull City manager Steve Bruce says James Chester is a major doubt for the FA Cup final against Arsenal after the defender injured his hamstring in the 3-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Striker Sone Aluko also faces a race to be fit for Wembley after hurting his ankle in a freak training ground accident.
Although Chester is not being fully ruled out of contention, Bruce said this evening he would be "amazed" if the centre-back returned to action before the end of the season.
Chester was forced off two minutes before half-time with what appears to be a recurrence of the injury he suffered at Newcastle in September which sidelined him for 11 weeks.
"It's a big blow," said Bruce after the match at Villa Park. "We're not going to rule him out but it doesn't look very good. It is really, really cruel for him."
Bruce said Aluko's participation would be "touch and go" after the forward injured his ankle stumbling over a divot during training on Friday.
Paul McShane and Allan McGregor may yet return in time for the final, however. McShane played 45 minutes in a behind-closed-doors game at Leeds on Friday and will hope to make the bench against Everton next weekend, while McGregor is waiting for the all-clear from specialists following his recent kidney problems.
Bruce labelled Saturday's defeat City's worst performance of the season and admitted his players were being distracted by the prospect of the cup final.
"We were so sloppy, awful in our defending," he said. "We didn't get started and didn't show that resilience you need to win a game or draw a game in the Premier League.
"I've said for the last couple of weeks we have to keep focused. The whole city is talking about the FA Cup final and why shouldn't it be? But it's been very, very difficult to keep a lid on it when we've still got a little bit of work to do.
"It's at the forefront of everybody's mind and that's only human nature because it's something we're all looking forward to."
