Manchester City 0-0 Real Madrid: David Silva a major doubt for second leg says Manuel Pellegrini

Manchester City midfielder David Silva is a major doubt for the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid after liming out of the first leg with a hamstring injury. The Spain international lasted just 40 minutes before being replaced by Kelechi Iheanacho and is unlikely to be fit in time for the return match at the Bernabeu.

The injury was a blotch on an encouraging evening for Manuel Pellegrini's side which saw them frustrate Real long periods before goalkeeper Joe Hart came to the recuse with a flurry of late saves. Substitute Jese hit the bar before Hart saved from Casemiro and Pepe late in the second half to ensure City have something to take to Madrid.

But City's hopes of progressing to a first ever European final and securing a place in next season's competition, as they battle Arsenal and Manchester United for a top four place, suffered a blow with the loss of Silva to an injury which would normally take several weeks to properly treat. Pellegrini has not yet ruled out the 30-year-old but admits he is likely to be absent.

"David had a slight strain," he said. "It is difficult to say now. It is probably quite tough for him to recover in just one week. We will have a clearer picture tomorrow the seriousness of the injury.

City managed just one shot on target during the 90 minutes with Real 'keeper Keylor Navas rarely called into action. Pellegrini has defended the performance and does not believe Zinedine Zidane's side are out-and-out favourites to progress.

"I don't think that Real Madrid with the squad that they have are weak," the Chilean explained. "Ronaldo didn't play, Benzema only played 45 minutes. It was a close game, we tried from the beginning to win we pressed high, we recovered the ball very well but we we not creating clear chances to score.

"I don't think they are favourites. as I said before this game we have the same options as Real Madrid. They have the advantage of playing the first game away so we tried to manage the tempo of the game and after that they finish at home. This team play away very similar so we had a good result at Paris Saint Germain that we drew. We are not afraid to play against anyone, so we see which teams goes through."