Antonio Valencia has said sorry after getting sent off during Manchester United 's pre-season tour of the US, writes David McDonnell in Houston .

Valencia was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge just 23 minutes after coming on in Monday's 2-1 win over Major League Soccer side Real Salt Lake.

The defender, captain on the night after coming on for the second-half, clattered into Sebastian Saucedo, forcing him out of the game.

Saucedo later left the Rio Tinto Stadium on crutches, and Valencia admitted the midfielder had provoked him into making the brutal challenge.

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"It was my fault," said the 31-year-old Ecuadorian. "I hope that it doesn’t happen in an important competition like the Premier League or the Champions League.

"It was a friendly, I want to apologise to the fans and my team. I hope it will not happen in the future

"It was my mistake. The boy was very excited and he wound me up a bit and I hope it doesn’t happen in the future."