EVERTON manager David Moyes admits that he has never experienced a season like this one when it comes to major injuries suffered by his key players.

Semi-final hero Phil Jagielka cruelly became the latest Goodison Park star to be ruled out of the FA Cup final against Chelsea on May 30 when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in the 2-1 home defeat to Manchester City on Saturday and was stretchered off in the 64th minute.

Jagielka joins team-mates Ayegbeni Yakubu, Mikel Arteta and Victor Anichebe on the treatment table with none of the quartet able to figure in Everton’s remaining fixtures this season.

Moyes said: “I haven’t had a season like this before because you don’t expect to get too many major injuries.

“When we first came in I thought there was always a lot of players injured here, but these ones we have got are all injured as well at the moment.

“A lot of them have got quite bad injuries. We don’t have a big squad so they are all important players for us who are injured.”

Despite the innocuous nature of Jagielka’s landing for the injury, a hushed Goodison Park feared the worst at the time and Moyes acknowledged that his gut feeling was that the diagnosis would not be good news ahead of his side’s Wembley return on May 30.

He said: “Yes, I did not have a good feeling. Football can be a cruel game at times. When you’re involved at the top end it can bring you great pleasure but also big downs.”