Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has some suspension concerns for Newcastle United.Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has some suspension concerns for Newcastle United.
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe has some suspension concerns for Newcastle United. | Getty
Newcastle United will be without Anthony Gordon against Brentford on Wednesday evening (7:45pm kick-off).
Gordon will serve the final match of his three-game red card suspension picked up against Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup last month. The winger missed the 1-0 win over West Ham United and 2-1 Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool and will now miss the match against Brentford at St James’ Park.
He will be back from suspension against Leicester City next week but remains a doubt having picked up a thigh injury while on international duty with England.
But as Gordon closes in on a return from his ban, another Newcastle player is at serious risk of suspension.
Joelinton facing Premier League ban
Newcastle midfielder Joelinton is just one yellow card away from a two-match Premier League ban. The Brazilian has picked up nine yellow cards in 24 league appearances so far this campaign and must avoid a booking in the upcoming matches against Brentford, Leicester City , Manchester United and Crystal Palace or else he will be banned for two matches.
The Brazilian has only recently returned from a month-long injury absence and played a key role in The Magpies’ Carabao Cup win at Wembley two-and-a-half weeks ago.
Joelinton has already served a one-match ban this season for accumulating five yellow cards. Fortunately for the Magpies, that suspension came during their trip to Portman Road just before Christmas, a game that he would likely have missed anyway after sustaining a knock in their previous outing, coincidentally against Brentford.
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Eddie Howe reacts to potential Joelinton ban
When asked about the fear of a potential ban for Joelinton having only welcomed him back from injury last month, 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, Dan Burn is also at risk, having picked up eight bookings. Two more bookings for Burn in Newcastle’s next four matches would see him banned for two games.
But no other players are at risk of yellow card suspensions with Fabian Schar and Sandro Tonali the next most booked players with five.
By avoiding a booking against West Ham United last time out in the Premier League, Tonali and Schar avoided suspension as even a booking in each of Newcastle’s next four games before the 32 game threshold would only take them to nine bookings. Elsewhere, Bruno Guimaraes has been booked four times while Lewis Hall and Jacob Murphy have three bookings.
Gordon - who is currently suspended - 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.