Raul Jimenez will miss Wolves’ visit to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United after he was sent off in his side’s 3-2 defeat to Leeds United. Kevin Friend’s decision to dismiss the Mexican striker in the second half on Friday evening was widely questioned after he had been correctly cautioned before half-time.
Usually, a double-booking red card would only mean the player is suspended for one match. However, because it is the second time Jimenez has been sent off this season, he will have to sit out the next two games.
Both will come after the upcoming international break with the first being Wolves’ West Midlands derby with Aston Villa in a fortnight’s time. The second of the games he will miss is the clash between Bruno Lage’s side and Newcastle on Tyneside on April 8.
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Despite struggling to find his goalscoring form this season, his absence will provide a boost to the Magpies defence as Jimenez remains Wolves’ chief threat in front of goal. After the game at Molineux, Lage was thoroughly unhappy with the dismissal of his star striker.
He told our sister site Birmingham Live : “When you start (with a question) like that, it’s because something has gone wrong in that situation. Everyone can make bad decisions, sometimes we can make bad decisions.
“But when you see the image on TV and you see it is a bad decision - and I had that feeling it was a big body contact, both players tried to win the ball - and I know the referee had watched the image, and he continued with the same opinion.
"The bad decision is the referee had already watched it on TV, and he continued with the same opinion."
