The Minnesota Vikings has reinstated running back, Adrian Peterson, who was earlier charged with child abuse after physically hurting his 4-year-old son. Peterson is expected to play for the team on their Sunday game at New Orleans.

In a statement quoted by The Guardian, Peterson extended his apologies and explained why he acted that way. It was reported that the NFL player hit his son with a tree branch early this summer. He, however, claimed in his statement that he is not a child abuser.

"I have to live with the fact that when I disciplined my son the way I was disciplined as a child, I caused an injury that I never intended or thought would happen," he told The Guardian.

Peterson was deactivated during last Sunday's game but the Vikings said that they had to bring him back to the team "after significant thought, discussion and consideration."

Team owners, Zygi and Mark Wilf, told The Guardian that they wanted "to let the legal process play out" before making other decisions on the matter.

"As evidenced by our decision to deactivate Adrian from yesterday's game, this is clearly a very important issue. On Friday, we felt it was in the best interests of the organization to step back, evaluate the situation, and not rush to judgment given the seriousness of this matter. At that time, we made the decision that we felt was best for the Vikings and all parties involved," the Wilfs said.

They also cleared that they are tackling the matter seriously as it involves the welfare of a child.

In a similar report by The New York Times, another allegation of child abuse surfaced against Peterson via KHOU-TV in Houston. It noted that this incident allegedly involves another son. It was claimed that there are photos and text exchanges between the NFL player and the boy's mother, indicating that the boy suffered a head injury after his father "disciplined him for cursing a sibling," the report added.

But Rusty Harding, Peterson's legal counsel, denied the claims.

"This is not a new allegation, it's one that is unsubstantiated and was shopped around to authorities in two states over a year ago and nothing came of it. An adult witness adamantly insists Adrian did nothing inappropriate with his son. There is no ongoing or new investigation," Harding added.

Aside from possibly facing jail time if found guilty, The New York Times noted that the Vikings running back could also face disciplinary action from the NFL.

Peterson's teammate and friend, Jerome Felton, said that he welcomes the player back to the team.

"I think you'll get a lot of support for Adrian in here, just because we know what type of person he is. The person I know has dedicated a lot of his own money and time to raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for children, whether it's special-needs children and inner-city kids," Felton said of Peterson.