Joelinton facing another ban - More bad news after Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Fulham

Joelinton is on the cusp of another ban after his actions during Newcastle United’s 2-1 Premier League defeat against Fulham.

The Magpies second consecutive home defeat had plenty of lessons to learn in a lethargic performance that was far from the high-octane mantra that we have come to expect from Eddie Howe’s side.

Toon gaffer Howe was forced to bring Joelinton’s contributions against Fulham to a premature end as the Brazilian limped off the pitch after putting his manager in a tricky predicament going forward with his previous actions before the substitution.

Joelinton facing two-game ban

Joelinton can not afford another booking in a pivotal period in Newcastle’s season after being cautioned by Chris Kavanagh in Newcastle’s defeat against Fulham.

The midfielder’s yellow on Saturday afternoon was his ninth of the season, with Premier League rules stating that any player booked 10 times before the 33rd game of the season will be handed a two-match ban. 

Newcastle have another eight to play with Joelinton unable to enter the referee’s notebook if he is to avoid the ban and, based on his style of play, it feels like a matter of when he's banned, not if.

The Brazilian is notoriously disruptive and has already been banned for accumulation of yellow cards this season, being forced to watch on as we trounced Ipswich 4-0 at Portman Road.

The Brazilian limped off in the second half of yesterday's game and Howe has confirmed that he injured his knee, saying: “Joelinton was suffering with a knee injury which was a shame. He was clearly struggling with it.”

Suspension could come at bad time?

A suspension for Joelinton would be a total disruption of Howe’s preferred midfield trio, alongside Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali, at a key point in the season with back-up option Joe Willock failing to impress with recent performances.

The once enigmatic midfielder seems a shadow of his former self and would be a marked downgrade on Joelinton who would miss game-defining seasons if he is to be cautioned in the coming weeks.

If Joelinton is booked against Manchester City he will serve his two game ban against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool. If he is shown a yellow vs Forest, he will be unable to travel on the road to both Anfield and West Ham United.