David Haye apologised to Wladimir Klitschko for pulling out of their title bout and insisted he is not yet contemplating fighting anyone else.
After being forced to pull out of his June 20 fight with a back injury, there was talk that a bout with Vitali Klitschko was in the works for September.
Haye's manager Adam Booth said he had heard the rumours but though Haye is most likely to fight that mouth, there is no plan at present to fight the WBC heavyweight champion.
"I would like to apologise to Wladimir," a visibly distraught Haye said. "I am not even thinking about fighting anyone else.
"This was something I had been building to since I was very little. All my training, all my amateur fights and pro fights were building to this night and I'm gutted I can't fight."
Haye explained how the injury came about last Tuesday.
"I was feeling pains in my back but they were the type of pains I'd had since I was young - ones you take pain-killers to get over and keep training," Haye added.
"Then on Tuesday I was shadow-boxing when I felt incredible pain in my back and could not go on."
Booth explained when Haye, who goes into hospital tomorrow to have an epidural injection in his lower back, is likely to be back in the ring.
"David will be ready to fight on July 25 but this is the holiday period when television companies are not interested in showing fights," Booth said.
"So realistically we are looking at September. At present we are not thinking about anyone but Wladimir Klitschko. We know he has a mandatory against [Alexander] Povetkin, but we will see what happens."
Finally, Haye had a message for his fans who bought tickets to see him, ensuring he would deliver for them when he ultimately fights for a heavyweight title and encouraging them to pursue getting refunds on the tickets they have bought.
"My day will come, I’m sure," Haye said. "Stick with me and when I’m 100% fit we can go and challenge for those heavyweight titles and bring them back to Britain.
"The good news is they can get a refund. If they go back to the agent they bought the tickets from, they’ll be given a full refund."