Figo apologises for ending Jimenez's season

Real Madrid midfielder Luis Figo has apologised for a challenge on Real Zaragoza defender Cesar Jimenez that will leave the player on the sidelines for between six and eight months.

Jimenez will undergo surgery on Thursday after tearing his cruciate ligament and suffering muscle and cartilage damage when Figo slid into him with his studs up during Sunday's league match, which Real Madrid won 3-1.

"I'm really sad about it," Figo told the Real Madrid website on Tuesday. "At no time did I want to hurt him. We were both going for the ball as hard as we could. I went in with my eyes closed and he got there first."

"I don't feel good about it. I hope he can get back to full fitness as soon as possible."

Although the Spanish media have criticised the referee's failure to penalise Figo for the challenge, Cesar himself has excused the Real Madrid player for his actions.

"I don't feel any resentment towards him," he told sports daily Marca. "He apologised to me and clearly felt very bad about it. I don't think any players deliberately set out to injure their opponents."