AC Milan striker Carlos Bacca is keen to make amends for his outburst after being substituted in the scoreless draw with Carpi when the San Siro side take on Verona on Monday.
The Colombia international reacted furiously when taken off by head coach Cristian Brocchi on Thursday and was told after the game that his behaviour was unacceptable.
Bacca – who has scored 15 goals in his first Serie A campaign – knows he was wrong to react the way he did and is keen to prove his worth against Verona.
"Reflecting on Thursday's events with a cool head, I would like to apologise to the coach, my team-mates and all the fans for my behaviour after I was substituted," Bacca said on his official Instagram account.
"That was not who I really am, but happened in the heat of the moment, when I thought I could still help the team and that is impossible outside the pitch.
"I was wrong and want to offer my apologies to the coach and my team-mates.
"My focus is now on Monday's game and I want to give my all for this shirt."
Bacca is likely to start again on Monday, with Mario Balotelli unavailable due to suspension. Alex will also be forced to watch the match against Verona from the sidelines due to a one-match ban, while Giacomo Bonaventura misses out due to a thigh injury.
Milan are in a battle for sixth place with Sassuolo, Lazio and Chievo as they chase a return to European football in the Europa League.
Verona, meanwhile, will be without Samuel Souprayen and Federico Viviani due to suspension as they look to avoid relegation to Serie B.
Furthermore, Luca Toni is set to miss out due to a thigh injury, while Artur Ionita and Mohamed Fares were still training apart from their team-mates on Friday.
Luigi Delneri's men sit rock bottom in Serie A with 22 points from 34 games and will only avoid the drop if they beat Milan and 17th-placed Carpi fail to defeat Empoli.
Their recent results against Milan do not bode well, though, with Verona winning just one of their last 11 Serie A games against the San Siro outfit.
They played out a 1-1 draw at San Siro back in December, Toni cancelling out Bacca's opener.
Key Opta facts:
- Milan have won 24 out of 51 Serie A encounters with Verona, losing just eight times.
- Verona have lost their last three home Serie A games, remaining unbeaten in their previous four home matches.
- Milan have never scored more than one goal in the last nine Serie A games, with Cristian Brocchi's side failing to score in three of these.
- Verona have scored 20 goals from set piece situations in Serie A this season (joint-record with Roma).
- Giampaolo Pazzini played for Milan between 2012 and 2015, scoring 21 goals in 74 Serie A games.
