... apologise for the challenge which left him with a perforated bowel. The 27-year-old Harewood was one of several Hammers players to go to see the Irishman after he underwent surgery to repair the damage.
Given was quick to absolve the frontman of any blame for the incident saying it was "50-50 challenge both of us had to go for" at Upton Park on September 17.
Given: "Lee Bowyer came two or three times to see me, which was nice, and Roy Carroll and the goalkeeping coach Ludek Miklosko. On the Thursday, Marlon Harewood came in and said he was sorry. But it was just one of those things in football.
"It was just an accident. He did not go out to do me or anything, and it was nice that he came in.
"It was pretty bad. I had tubes sticking out of me everywhere and oxygen masks and things on. I woke up and I thought 'was I in a car crash or something?' There were tubes coming out of my hand, my arms, my nose.
"It looked pretty bad. You have played a game of football and you wake up the next day in a pretty bad condition."