Newcastle United midfielder Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa has insisted that he did not intend to injure Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri on Sunday.
Nasri was ruled out for eight weeks after being hacked down by Yanga-Mbiwa during City's 2-0 win at Newcastle in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old was booked for the challenge, though he later received widespread criticism for his actions.
"It was more a case of trying to trip him up, but there wasn't any nastiness," the Frenchman told L'Equipe.
"He got the ball and I simply wanted to stop him going forward, to knock him off balance so that he fell. He stayed on his feet after the first tackle and he fell after the second one. But I certainly didn't have the intention of hurting him."
Newcastle continue their Premier League campaign on Saturday when they travel to West Ham United.
