Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini says he never lost faith in Nigel de Jong.
Mancini insists he never thought about dropping De Jong in the wake of his tackle on Hatem Ben Arfa that left the Newcastle striker with a broken leg.
City are at Newcastle on Boxing Day.
"I am sorry for what happened with Ben Arfa but this can happen in a football match," said the City boss. "It has not affected Nigel and I never thought about leaving him out.
"There are a lot of players in the world who attack the ball like Nigel. In this instance he was very unlucky.
"But he is a fantastic player and very important for us.
"He is the only player we have got with his characteristics.
"He always stays in front of the defence, so he helps the defenders. But he helps the strikers and wingers too."
