Newcastle United forward given return green light ahead of Arsenal as trio ruled out
Newcastle United will be without three players for Wednesday night’s clash against Bradford City with Eddie Howe expected to rotate his side.
Newcastle United remain without Yoane Wissa, Jacob Ramsey and Fabian Schar due to injury after the trio missed Sunday’s 0-0 draw at AFC Bournemouth.
Anthony Gordon also missed the trip to the Vitality Stadium but will be back after a three-match suspension on Wednesday evening.
The Magpies host League One leaders Bradford City in the Carabao Cup at St James’ Park (7:45pm kick-off). Eddie Howe’s are looking to defend the Carabao Cup this season, having won the competition back in March.
Gordon missed the 2-1 win over Liverpool at Wembley Stadium due to suspension but played a key role in Newcastle’s success in the competition, having scored home and away against Arsenal in the two-legged semi-final.
Anthony Gordon returns for NUFC
The winger will make his return to Premier League action against The Gunners at St James’ Park on Sunday (4:30pm kick-off). But first, Gordon will have the chance to impress against Bradford City as Howe prepares to make several changes to his side.
“There'll be an element of rotation again,” Howe said. “The guys that have played three times last week we might look to give them a rest.
“We want to pick a strong team and we want to try and progress so you have to get the balance right. You don't want players to lose rhythm - that's really important."
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Gordon breifly returned from suspension against Barcelona in the Champions League last week before serving the final match of his domestic ban at Bournemouth. The winger started the game up front in Nick Woltemade’s absence before moving out to his favoured left-wing position, scoring a late consolation goal.
The strike against Barcelona was Gordon’s first in the Champions League and also his first since scoring in the 2-0 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg win over Arsenal back in February.
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Suspension rules explained
Gordon will be well-versed in suspension rules by now, having been banned on four separate occasions since joining Newcastle.
Five bookings in the opening 19 Premier League games hands a player a one-match ban, though yellow card suspensions do not carry over into different competitions. After 19 games have passed in the league, the suspension threshold moves to 10 bookings and 32 matches, then 15 bookings for the remainder of the season.
If a player is shown two yellow cards before the Carabao Cup semi-final, they will be banned for one match. Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes both served such bans last season.
Red card suspensions do carry over through all domestic competitions, but not European competitions. It’s why Gordon missed the Carabao Cup final back in March after being shown a straight red card in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion, while also missing two Premier League matches.