Leeds United have lost their appeal against the red card shown to defender Pascal Struijk for his tackle on Liverpool's Harvey Elliott at the weekend, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Elliott, 18, was left with a dislocated ankle and underwent successful surgery on Tuesday, with Liverpool confident that the midfielder would feature again later this season.
"We can confirm that our appeal against Pascal Struijk's red card has been unsuccessful. Pascal will miss our next three games against Newcastle United, Fulham (Carabao Cup) and West Ham United," Leeds said in a statement.
Elliott, however, expressed his disagreement with the decision and offered support to Struijk.
Replying to an Instagram post, he wrote: "Sorry about this Pascal... I think it's wrong! But it'll soon blow over brother and you'll be back in no time smashing it again... keep positive".
The red-card incident took place in the second half of Liverpool's 3-0 win at Elland Road on Sunday when Struijk won the ball off Elliott but trapped the teenager's ankle under his leg in the process.
Reuters