Nathan Collins waited 25 minutes after the final whistle to apologise face to face to Jack Grealish for his X-rated challenge.
Wolves stopper Collins was shown a straight red in the 33rd minute for a chest high lunge on City’s £100million man in their 3-0 home defeat to Manchester City. The botched tackle floored England ace Grealish, who stayed down for treatment after the shocking incident.
Defender Collins was distraught at his moment of madness but hung around in the tunnel long after the final whistle after getting showered and changed. Mirror Sport understands Collins then sought out Grealish after the ace had finished celebrating the win and completed his post-match interviews.
Apologetic Collins insisted to Grealish that he didn’t mean it , said it wasn’t malicious and stressed he was going for the ball. Grealish accepted the apology after the chest-high tackle but told teammates it was actually his leg which hurt the most after Collins’ studs went down his body.
Collins, signed from relegated Burnley this summer for £20.5million, now faces a three-game ban for his violent conduct.
Collins received heavy criticism in the BT Sport studio for his tackle, with former England defenders Rio Ferdinand and Joleon Lescott at a loss trying to explain what the Irishman was trying to do
"We talked about young defenders today and it was just a rush of blood to the head," said Ferdinand. "I don't know what he was attempting to do there."
Former Wolves and City defender Lescott added: "He's not attempting to clear it as that's not the technique. Is he trying to stamp it out for a throw in? It's an ugly tackle and I'm confused about what he was trying to do."
Wolves boss Bruno Lage will step up his bid to find a replacement centre-back for Willy Boly who was sold to Nottingham Forest.
After signing free agent Diego Costa, Wolves are now back looking at Belgium international defender Jason Denayer, who is out of contract after leaving Lyon.
Lage said: “When you miss Boly we should have the opportunity to find a good centre-back to be a support to these two (Collins and Max Kilman). “Let’s see what happens in the next days.
