Manchester United striker Edinson Cavani has apologised for an Instgram post which included a racially questionable term. 

The Uruguayan striker is facing a Football Association investigation after re-posting a congratulatory message with the words "gracias negrito!".

Cavani scored two second half goals as United came from 2-0 down to beat Southampton 3-2 at St. Mary's on Sunday.

However, his goalscoring exploits have been overshadowed by a social media faux-pas that could see him banned for three matches.

Cavani and the club held hands with an apology on the United website on Monday afternoon.

The 33-year old said, "The message I posted after the match on Sunday was intended as an affectionate greeting to a friend, thanking him for his congratulations after the game.

"The last thing I wanted to do was cause offence to anyone.

"I am completely opposed to racism and deleted the message as soon as it was explained that it can be interpreted differently.

"I would like to sincerely apologise for this."

United added, "It is clear to us that there was absolutely no malicious intent behind Edinson’s message and he deleted it as soon as he was informed that it could be misconstrued.

"Edinson has issued an apology for any unintentional offence caused. Manchester United and all of our players are fully committed to the fight against racism."

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