Federal Cities Minister Jamie Briggs has confessed he sustained a knee injury on the night of the Liberal leadership spill after he tried to tackle Tony Abbott at a party.

Mr Briggs had originally claimed he suffered the injury while running.

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Witnesses at the raucous party told a different story, claiming his injury was self-inflicted at the event, which also saw a marble table smashed to bits.

Mr Briggs told Macquarie Radio he hurt his knee during "hijinks" with the former prime minister on the night of the spill.

"Well, look, I went to tackle him, I ran at him and missed, and the rest is history," Mr Briggs said.

"Everyone knows that Tony Abbott is a very fit man, he's a very strong man and I'm not at the peak of my powers as far as fitness is concerned.

"I then limped back to the office and licked my wounds.

"We were mucking around, put it that way."

Mr Briggs denied being present when the marble table was broken in the prime minister's suite, with parliamentary officials believing it was damaged by a person "standing or dancing upon it".

"The table occurred after [the injury], so you're going to have to ask Joe Hockey," Mr Briggs said.

Mr Briggs was pictured on the day after the leadership spill being transported in a wheelchair, insisting he had torn his knee ligaments while running.

Mr Abbott has promised to pay for the broken marble table.