Martin Skrtel’s hope of being available for next week’s big Premier League match against Arsenal has faded away.
The Football Association rejected Skrtel’s appeal of a ban for stamping on Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea last weekend.
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Now the 30-year-old defender will miss Premier League matches against the Gunners and Newcastle.
The third match will be the FA Cup quarterfinal replay against Blackburn.
The Slovakian stood on David De Gea in the last seconds of Liverpool’s 2-1 home defeat by Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.
The incident was missed at the time by referee Martin Atkinson.
Skrtel, 30, said the alleged stamp had been unintentional.
This likely means more action for Dejan Lovren, a defender who has struggled since his move from Southampton in the summer.