Sunderland have been served a huge blow in their bid to beat the drop with Papy Djilobodji facing a four-game ban after being charged with violent conduct, the Football Association has announced.
Djilobodji was involved in an altercation with Darren Fletcher in the 86th minute of Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat to West Brom on Saturday that was not seen by any of the matchday officials.
The case was referred to a panel of three former elite officials and it was unanimously decided the incident was worthy of a red card and the Sunderland defender has until 6pm on Tuesday to respond to the charge.
Having already been sent off this season, Djilobodji would be handed an extra-game ban if found guilty, which would rule him out for Sunderland until March.
With Lamine Kone away on Africa Cup of Nations duty and Paddy McNair out for the remainder of the season, it leaves David Moyes incredibly short of options at the heart of Sunderland’s defence for upcoming fixtures against Tottenham, Crystal Palace, Southampton and Everton.
Even though the 28-year-old has not attracted many plaudits since arriving in the Premier League, he is still Sunderland’s second highest rated player from those to have featured in more than one league game this season (7.02).
For more stats on Papy Djilobodji, click here to visit his WhoScored player page
