West Ham United will be without Freddie Potts for the next three Premier League games following his dismissal against Burton Albion in the FA Cup.
Potts was a second-half substitute for West Ham United at the Pirelli Stadium, with the midfielder replacing debutant Keiber Lamadrid for the final 20 minutes of normal time.
How big of a blow is Freddie Potts’ suspension?!
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A graphic showing Freddie Potts being suspended for West Ham United after his red card vs Burton Albion.
Credit: Getty Images/Rob Newell – CameraSport
However, the West Ham United academy graduate was sent off for a reckless tackle on Burton’s Julian Larsson roughly six minutes after Crysencio Summerville had scored what proved to be the winner in extra-time.
Suspensions across different competitions can be confusing at times. The Premier League’s official website, however, has confirmed the extent of the 22-year-old’s ban.
They confirm he will miss gameweek 27 through to 29, which rules him out of the following matches: Bournemouth (H) on Saturday, February 21, Liverpool (A) on Saturday 28 February and Fulham (A) on Wednesday, 4 March.
Fixture Date
West Ham United vs Bournemouth 21 February 2026
Liverpool vs West Ham United 28 February 2026
Fulham vs West Ham United 4 March 2026
Who could replace Freddie Potts for West Ham United
It’s a major blow for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.
Following the injury to Pablo Felipe, Nuno brought Potts back into the fold as he reverted to a 4-3-3 system for the draw with Manchester United on Tuesday.
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Prior to Pablo’s injury, West Ham were largely playing in a 4-4-2, which brought about huge improvement in their results and performances.
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A split image showing Vitor Pereira and Igor Tudor.
Credit: Getty Images/Marc Atkins/Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto
However, with Pablo out for the foreseeable future and Potts now suspended for almost a month, Nuno will need to rethink.
Assuming Tomas Soucek and Mateus Fernandes will always start, if Nuno is to operate with three in midfield, then Soungoutou Magassa and Mohamadou Kante are potential options.
Neither, however, particularly impressed against Burton.
Alternatively, he could stick with the 4-4-2 and have Soucek and Fernandes in midfield with Callum Wilson and Taty Castellanos up front.
Freddie Potts is shown a red card during West Ham United's FA Cup game against Burton Albion.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images
Nuno’s verdict on Freddie Potts red card
The Potts red card against Burton split opinion online.
Naturally, Nuno was asked about the decision from referee Lewis Smith.
While the West Ham head coach didn’t get drawn into a debate, he did simply stress that Potts is not a violent player.
Speaking to reporters on the side of the pitch after the game, Nuno said: “I didn’t see the images, so it’s not fair for me to judge the decision.
“But I insist again, Freddie Potts is not a violent player. He’s not a violent player. You know the boy is very fair, he’s aggressive because he has to be but he’s not violent at all.”
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