Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has admitted that he was "scared" of picking up a fresh injury during the latter stages of his side's EFL Cup win against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Germany international only recently returned to action following a lengthy spell on the sidelines, featuring eight times in all for the Citizens this term.
Gundogan has been eased back to full fitness after suffering a minor setback on his only previous start against West Bromwich Albion, yet Pep Guardiola kept him on the field for the full 120 minutes as Wolves took the tie all the way to penalties.
Guardiola revealed after the match that the 27-year-old "finished with some problems", but Gundogan has moved to allay fears of another spell on the sidelines.
"The last 10 minutes were really tough for me," he told the club's official website. "Fortunately, it doesn't look that bad. I don't think I've pulled something. It feels like coming from zero to a hundred - 110 minutes I could handle in a very good way, but the last 10 minutes, my legs were cramping everywhere, especially in the groin.
"I was also a little bit scared that when I did a sprint something would pull. I didn't want to leave the field and leave my team one man down, but, yeah, in the last 10 minutes I couldn't play an important part in the game. Normally I would also have taken a penalty but I was scared that when I shot something bad would happen."
City won the penalty shootout 4-1 to book a place in the last eight of the EFL Cup, following a goalless draw after extra time.
Daniel Lewis
