Bristol Rovers' Tommy Leigh hit with three-match suspension

Bristol Rovers will be without loanee Tommy Leigh for three games following his red card for violent conduct in the loss at Grimsby Town.

Bristol Rovers will be without midfielder Tommy Leigh for their next three matches after he was sent off for violent conduct at Grimsby Town. The 2-0 defeat at Blundell Park on Saturday ended the club's four-match winning run and leaves them second in League Two on 12 points.

Leigh, a loanee from Bradford City, was dismissed in the 75th minute for an off-the-ball altercation with Grimsby's Mark Shelton. The automatic punishment for violent conduct is a three-game suspension, which will see him miss the trips to Gillingham and Crewe Alexandra, and the home fixture against Exeter City.

Disciplinary landscape

Bristol Rovers have no immediate concerns regarding yellow card suspensions. The League Two threshold for a one-match ban is five bookings up to and including gameweek 19. With 13 games remaining until that first cut-off, several players are on the watchlist. Tommy Leigh, Clinton Mola, Kofi Balmer and Tom James each have two cautions this season. Ben Purrington, Bobby Kamwa, Richie Smallwood, Riley Harbottle and Shaq Forde have one each.

The club also faces a separate disciplinary matter involving assistant manager Paul Raynor. He was charged by the FA for improper conduct following an incident in the 93rd minute of the recent 1-0 win over Rotherham United. An FA statement said Raynor and Rotherham head coach Alex Bruce "allegedly acted in an improper manner around the 93rd minute, which led to their dismissals and also after being sent off by remaining in view of the pitch." Bristol Rovers, Rotherham, Bruce and Raynor have until Monday 14 September to respond to the charge.

Impact on the squad

Leigh's absence is a blow to a side that had won three of its last five league games, a run detailed on the club's standings page. He scored the only goal in the 1-0 victory against Rotherham earlier this month. Managerial staff will now need to adjust the midfield for the upcoming fixtures, which are listed on the fixtures schedule. The team's recent form reads LWWWD from the last five outings, with the loss at Grimsby preceded by a win, a draw and two more victories. Bristol Rovers next face Gillingham at Priestfield Stadium on Saturday.