Hull City duo Matt Crooks and Oli McBurnie are both on the cusp of serving a one-match suspension in the Premier League after collecting bookings against Everton.
The experienced pair were both cautioned by referee Michael Salisbury during the 2-2 draw on Sunday, and it now means they’re on four bookings from the opening six matches.
Should either receive another caution in the next 13 matches, then they’ll be forced to sit out a game, which would come as a blow to the Tigers.
Crooks has been booked in all four of his Premier League appearances so far in games with Manchester United, Chelsea, Newcastle United and the Toffees. McBurnie’s cards came in the win at Coventry, a draw at Chelsea and defeat on Tyneside.
Last term, Crooks picked up 13 yellow cards in his 31 Championship outings, while Scotsman McBurnie was handed seven in his 37 league outings, plus one each in the play-offs and FA Cup.
Players who pick up five bookings before the 19th game (the trip to Sunderland on January 2) of the campaign miss one game, before the threshold rises to 10 bookings before the 32nd fixture (against Coventry City on April 17). Should that trigger be reached, a two-game ban would be activated, which is something Crooks experienced in the Championship last season, and as a consequence, he missed matches against Millwall and Wrexham in March.
From there, any player who collects 15 yellow cards would be slapped with a three-game ban. In the unlikely event that 20 yellow cards are picked up, a disciplinary panel would decide the punishment.
While Crooks and McBurnie are likely to miss a game in the near future, so, too, could Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt, who is also perched precariously on four bookings, followed by a string of other players on three, including Bees striker Igor Tiago, ex-City man Ola Aina and Leeds United forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Boss Sergej Jakirovic will hope Mohamed-Ali Cho is fit to bolster his attacking options, should McBurnie face a ban, while Morita and Tim Ireoegbunam’s comeback on Sunday will add to his midfield options should Crooks be forced to sit one out.
Before the next international break, City go to struggling Fulham on Saturday, before back-to-back home matches versus Brentford and Ipswich Town, before rounding off this round of games at champions Arsenal on November 7.
Here at Hull Live , we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.