PHIL JAGIELKA admits he was left in tears by the heartbreaking injury that dashed his FA Cup final dream.

The Everton defender was ruled out of next month’s Wembley showdown with Chelsea after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during last weekend’s home defeat to Manchester City.

Jagielka undergoes an operation to repair the damage in London today before beginning a rehabilitation programme, with the centre-back expected to be sidelined for the next six months.

The injury came just six days after the 26-year-old netted the decisive penalty in the semi-final shoot-out victory over Manchester United to send Everton to their first major final since 1995.

And speaking for the first time since the devastating blow, Jagielka has revealed the depths of his despair when realising hopes of lifting the FA Cup were over.

“I had to get out of the changing room,” said Jagielka. “I was crying and I couldn’t control it. I couldn’t go and see my friends or my family because I felt myself fill up.

“Obviously everyone wanted to come and see me, but one minute I would be fine making jokes and the next I would be crying my eyes out.

“I went for the scan straight away because I wouldn’t have slept. After the scan they knew that there was a gap where my cruciate was supposed to be.”

Jagielka suffered the injury after landing awkwardly while going up for a header midway through the second half of the 2-1 defeat to City on Saturday.

And speaking to evertonTV, he explained: “I landed and tried to take off and I just felt three or four different feelings in my knee.

“I just thought “Wow, I’ve never felt that before”. I’ve been tackled and felt pain before, but it wasn’t the pain that was hard to take, it was knowing that I had done something serious and I obviously didn’t know what it was.

“When I got back to the changing room I described the feeling to head of physio (Mick Rathbone) and he was certain I had done my cruciate.

“I think it’s the way most of the injuries like that are done these days. The last thing I want to be doing is blaming someone for a mistimed tackle. So if there is a good way to get injured then it’s from a freak accident and I have no-one to blame.

“It’s going to be a long time out, so there’s two ways of dealing with it, either be grumpy for the next six months or I could try and get on with it with as much light heartedness as possible.

“I’ve got great people around me now though. The staff, manager and players have all wished me a speedy recovery and I look forward to returning next season.”

Jagielka has been Everton’s outstanding performer of the campaign and, after an unsteady start following a £4million move from Sheffield United in the summer of 2007, has blossomed into a first-team regular and England international.

And the centre-back has vowed to return as strong as ever from his untimely setback, the latest in a long line of injuries to hamper David Moyes’s side this season.

“It’s been a whirlwind last 18 months and I would have loved to finish it off with a final, but as it is I finished it off with an injury,” said Jagielka.

“But the fans’ praise means the world to me and hopefully when I’ve got the operation done, I’ll be as good and as strong as I was before. I’m not sure how I’ll feel putting a suit on going to watch the boys while on crutches.

“It won’t be a nice feeling but I’ve played a decent part in getting us to the final and hopefully the boys can get us over the finishing line.

“We’ve got a fantastic squad – it’s not the biggest but we have got some fantastic players and I know I’ll be there to see us lift the Cup.”