Manchester City's Emmanel Adebayor has been handed a four-match ban after being sent off during the FA Cup fifth-round replay defeat against Stoke City on Tuesday.
The Togo forward was dismissed after hitting the Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross with a flailing arm at the Britannia Stadium, and has chosen not to appeal against the decision.
Although it was the 25-year-old's first red card of the season he was handed an extra one-game ban on top of the usual three-match suspension because it is the second occasion on which he has been found guilty of violent conduct.
No surprises with the decision of, nor the decision by the club not to appeal given that the ban would likely be be extended by a further game.
Fortunately, Carlos Tevez has now returned to the squad following his family issues and Roque Santa Cruz is edging back towards fitness. A concern though is that following his last lay off (following the suspension after the Arsenal game) it took some time for Adebayor to regain fitness and form.
We can ill afford a similar scenario this time around.