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Newcastle United risk being without Joelinton for another spell after only just welcoming the Brazilian back from injury.
Joelinton returned to the Newcastle side against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday after a month out with a knee injury. Now he is set to start his first Premier League match since his injury when Newcastle travel to face West Ham United at the London Stadium on Monday night (8pm kick-off).
The Brazilian midfielder heads into the game on the verge of a two-match ban in the Premier League having been booked nine times in league matches so far this season. Joelinton has already served a one-match ban after picking up five bookings inside Newcastle’s opening 19 matches of the Premier League season - missing December’s trip to Ipswich Town.
Having picked up four more bookings since returning from suspension, the combative midfielder must now avoid a booking in Newcastle’s upcoming league matches against West Ham, Brentford, Leicester City, Manchester United and Crystal Palace in order to avoid a two-match suspension.
If Joelinton picks up a yellow card at West Ham, it will be another month before his next Premier League match against Manchester United on April 13.
It wouldn’t be the first time Joelinton has served such a suspension as, during the 2022-23 season, he missed two matches after picking up 10 bookings.
Eddie Howe reacts to potential Joelinton ban
When asked about the fear of a potential ban for Joelinton having only just welcomed him back from injury, Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe told The Gazette: “Yeah, unfortunately for Joey, he's a very competitive player. He's always on the line, I'd say, in terms of that side, but you need players like that in your squad.
“We'd be desperately disappointed after losing him to injury, to lose him for two games, but hopefully he can control himself like the last time he was on the precipice of a ban. I think he went a number of games without getting booked, so fingers crossed he can do the same.”
What Premier League rules say about bookings
Premier League rules state that any player who accumulates 10 bookings inside the opening 32 Premier League matches must serve a two-match ban.
While Joelinton is close to a ban, no other Newcastle players are at serious risk just yet. Dan Burn has seven bookings to his name but is also out injured while Sandro Tonali and Fabian Schar have five bookings.
Tonali and Schar would have to be booked in each of Newcastle’s next five league games in order to be banned meaning they will avoid suspension if they avoid a booking at West Ham. Bruno Guimaraes has been booked four times while Lewis Hall and Jacob Murphy have three bookings.
Anthony Gordon - who is suspended for the next three matches following a red card against Brighton - has been booked only twice in the league along with Sean Longstaff, Nick Pope and Joe Willock.
Sven Botman, Tino Livramento Alexander Isak, Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson all have one yellow card each.
After the 10 booking, 32 game threshold is passed - any player shown 15 bookings over the course of the season is handed a three-match ban. To date, no player has ever been cautioned that many times during a single Premier League campaign.
Do bookings & bans impact the cup competitions?
As we know all too well, red card suspensions do carry over between competitions as Gordon will now miss the Carabao Cup final and the next two league matches as a result of his sending-off in the FA Cup.
But booking suspensions are competition specific so Joelinton’s potential two-match ban would only apply in the Premier League and would not see him miss the Carabao Cup final.
Your next Newcastle United read: Newcastle United injury list ahead of the Carabao Cup final & West Ham