Sergio Ramos: 'I have never tried to hurt an opponent'

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos has defended himself amid claims that he set out to deliberately hurt Viktoria Plzen midfielder Milan Havel.

The Spanish defender caught his opponent on the nose with the end of his elbow during the opening quarter of Los Blancos' 5-0 win against the Czech champions on Wednesday evening.

Havel was sent to hospital with a suspected broken nose, but Ramos - also accused of deliberately hurting Mohamed Salah in last season's Champions League final win over Liverpool - insists that he should be absolved of any blame.

"There was no intention, far from it, to harm a fellow professional," he is quoted as saying by Marca. "I went to speak to [Havel] after the game but he wasn't there and so I sent him a message.

"I have never gone out to hurt another player. I won't be the one to respond to people who criticise me; luckily I am able to do my talking on the pitch."

Madrid's midweek victory was their third in a row in all competitions under stand-in boss Santiago Solari.