Celtic's Australian striker Scott McDonald has apologised for the tackle that almost had him sent off on the weekend. Hibernian defender David van Zanten went down during the McDonald challenge that left him with a gash on his leg, but fortunately did not sustain further injury. McDonald said he did not set out to harm the Irishman but claimed he may have been a little clumsy with his lunge. "Sometimes strikers have to hold up their hands and admit they are not the best tacklers in the world - and this is one of these occasions," he told the Daily Record. "It was a badly-timed tackle on my part and it wasn't helped by the conditions but I want to make clear there was no malice on my part. "I would never attempt to hurt a fellow professional and anyone who knows me knows that to be true. "As soon as we made contact I knew it was a bad one and you could tell by my reaction. "I was just delighted to see him get back up on his feet and back on to the park. The first thing I did was apologise to him. "I don't think he was in much of a mood to accept my apology at the time and I can't say I blame him. I would have probably been the same. "But I was sorry and I'm happy there was no damage."