Everton forward Richarlison has issued an apology for his horrendous tackle on Liverpool midfielder Thiago Alcantara.
The Brazilian was sent off late on in Saturday's 2-2 draw at Goodison Park after recklessly lunging in on the Spaniard.
Fortunately Thiago was able to play out the final minutes of the fixture but he did need to head to hospital for a scan - with Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp adding "it did not look good" for the Reds' No.6.
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And Richarlison has since apologised for his ill-timed challenge, releasing a statement on his official website to give his explanation for how he came to injure the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich man.
"Everyone who knows my background knows that I was never a violent player," the Brazilian wrote.
"I did not enter that dispute with the intention of hurting Thiago. When I saw that the crash was going to happen, I picked up my foot and hit him with my knee in the pass, which was inevitable due to the speed of the play.
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"I already sent a message to him apologising and I also do it here publicly. I hope he hasn't been hurt and that everything is fine.
"I also apologise to my teammates, my club and my fans for leaving them with one less at the end of the game. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do to change what happened, other than to reflect, work and move on."
Former Reds midfielder Steve McManaman was on commentary for BT Sport when the horrific tackle was made and told viewers he had to turn away as the replays were too much for him to handle.
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The potential leg-breaker followed Jordan Pickford's shocking tackle on Virgil van Dijk that went unpunished in the first half.
There have since been reports stating that the Dutchman has ruptured his ACL and could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
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