The former All Black Zac Guildford says he's grateful to have escaped an assault with minor injuries.
Zac Guildford Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Guildford, who is playing for French club Clermont, and team-mate Jonathon Davies were assualted in the early hours of Sunday morning after a game.
The 25-year-old New Zealander, who had a record of ill discipline off the pitch in New Zealand before he made the move to France a couple of months ago, was left with a badly bruised jaw and could be out of action for up to a month.
The winger had been out celebrating with his team-mates after a Top 14 victory over Racing-Metro, the birth of team-mate Camille Lopez's child and the birthday of teammate Jamie Cudmore.
Both he and Davies were set upon by three individuals in the centre of town, and Guildford was kicked in the face when he fell to the ground.
He was taken to hospital while the three assailants escaped and have yet to be identified.
Guildford has tweeted that he thinks his head was mistaken for a soccer ball.
He says he's a bit sore and bruised around his face but that's life.
He added that as well as being angry for what happened, he's grateful to escape with minor injuries.
Guildford has thanked everyone for all the support and he looks forward to his continual development as a person and rugby player.
Clermont's sporting director Jean-Marc Lhermet says Guildford is the victim.
Lhermet says it is true they would have preferred he didn't find himself mixed up in this but similarly I wouldn't want aspersions made regarding his past.
Guildford, who scored six tries in 11 matches for the All Blacks, signed a two-year contract with the 2013 European Cup finalists with the option for another year.
Guildford's notoriety reached a peak when he attacked two men in a bar in the Cook Islands in a nude, drunken rage, which led to him admitting to having alcoholism problems.