Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette has been handed a three-match ban by Uefa after his sending off against BATE Borisov in the Europa League.
The France international was shown a straight red card by referee Srdjan Jovanovic for swinging an elbow at BATE defender Aleksandar Filipovic in the Gunners' 1-0 last-32 first-leg defeat in Belarus.
Unai Emery's side appeared to cope without the 27-year-old for the second leg, however, brushing aside the Belarusian outfit 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
But the Spanish coach has been handed a blow after Lacazette's automatic one-match ban was prolonged due to the severity of the incident.
The Uefa Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body have decided to extend his punishment to a three-game ban, meaning he will miss both games against Rennes in the last-16 knockout stage.
That leaves Emery with only two fit strikers for the next round, with Danny Welbeck out for the rest of the season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and young striker Eddie Nketiah will be the only available forwards for the trip to Roazhon Park on March 7 and the return leg in north London a week later.
Lacazette, who has scored 12 goals and registered eight assists in all competitions this season, apologised to the club's fans after his dismissal.
“Letting the team down like that is the worst feeling,” he wrote on social media.
“I should have stayed calm but it’s not always easy... Sorry. There are still 90 minutes to play and I believe that my teammates will make it to the next round.”
