Phil Bardsley's wife Tanya has played down the furore surrounding the recent video of the Stoke City defender appearing to knock out Wayne Rooney by insisting that the pair were just having a "laugh".
National newspaper The Sun published a clip over the weekend of Rooney and Bardsley boxing in the Manchester United striker's home.
The footage shows Rooney get knocked to the ground before cutting out, but Tanya has insisted that the England captain got right back up.
She tweeted: "Seen the sun, 2 mates havin a laugh video doesn't show Wayne jumping straight up and laughing with Phil #cleveredit."
Rooney decided to poke fun at the incident by pretending to suffer a knockout punch during his goal celebration after scoring in United's 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.