Hart's season set to end early

30Apr 2013

Manchester City could be without Joe Hart for the final three weeks of the season after the goalkeeper suffered a recurrence of his back problem during the 2-1 victory over West Ham United.

Hart was criticised when he allowed a late effort from Hammers striker Andy Carroll to creep through his legs but it has since been discovered that the shot-stopper had been in agony at the time as he had only just received treatment for the back injury. Hart has been suffering from a series of lower back spasms since the start of the season and has been trying to manage the issue. However, City could now opt to rest Hart and hand Costel Pantilimon the chance to shine in the remaining games of the season. The Romanian goalkeeper was already set to start the FA Cup Final against Wigan Athletic, having played in all of the previous rounds. Manchester City are 6/1 with bet365 to beat the Latics 2-0 at Wembley and can be backed at 1/1 to keep a clean sheet in the match.