Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini insists he did not set out to injure Arsenal striker Robin van Persie on Saturday.

In the 0-0 friendly with Holland, Italy defender Chiellini's challenge on van Persie led to torn ankle ligaments that will keep the Arsenal man sidelined for several months.

Chiellini said: "I have never gone into a tackle to hurt anyone in my entire life and van Persie said the same thing. If you look at the footage it's clear it was not a nasty challenge. Some people tried to stir up trouble to distract attention from the performance.

"I was the first to be upset about van Persie and hope he'll recover as soon as possible. I was actually surprised he was injured from that situation."