Connor Wickham insists he recognises the 'privilege' of being Cardiff City player after being caught on film appearing to inhale laughing gas in the wake of Saturday's South Wales derby.
A video appearing to show Wickham inhaling nitrous oxide while on a night out was posted on the player's Instagram story just hours after the game, and enraged many Bluebirds supporters, many of whom were still reeling from their team's last-gasp defeat to the Swans at Cardiff City Stadium.
Ben Cabango's 99th-minute winner settled the contest on the pitch, handing Russell Martin's men a 3-2 win in the capital, their fourth consecutive success in this fixture.
READ MORE: Cardiff City star Connor Wickham 'inhales laughing gas' hours after Swansea defeat
Cardiff City are understood to be investigating the incident.
Wickham, who was introduced midway through the second half of the derby defeat, has since taken to Instagram again to issue a statement on the incident, writing: "I'm obviously aware of a video circulating on social media.
"I know my responsibility as a professional. Playing for Cardiff City is a huge privilege, I've been so welcomed by you all and I will always give 100%.
"To lose the game the way we did yesterday hurt more than ever, even though you will feel it doesn't seem that way to me.
"I hope you can all understand and I will do my best [to] help my team and this club to achieve the best possible outcome this season!"
Possession of laughing gas, or Nitrous Oxide, is set to be made a criminal offence by the UK government due to "health and social harms". It is already illegal to produce or supply the gas for its psychoactive effects, amid concerns that heavy use could damage nerves in the user's spinal column.
Wickham's Cardiff career hasn't quite managed to catch fire as of yet. He is yet to score a single goal since arriving on a free transfer in February.
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