Sunderland face further suspension issues after no fewer than six of their players were shown a yellow card at Leeds united. Jobe Bellingham collected his ninth yellow card of the season when he fouled Brenden Aaronson in the second half of Sunderland's defeat, which means he is now just one further booking away from a two-match suspension.

Any player who picks up 10 yellows before the end of the 37th game of the Championship campaign automatically incurs a two-match man.

It means the 19-year-old needs to come through the next four fixtures without being penalised otherwise he will be punished. Sunderland have not won this season when Bellingham has not started, demonstrating how important he is.

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“For sure, we need to manage this,” head coach Régis Le Bris said. “We’ll see, because he is very important to us.”

The Black Cats have another two players potentially at risk of incurring a ban before the cut-off. Trai Hume and Wilson Isidor were both booked against Leeds, meaning they now have eight yellow cards each for the campaign. With options limited in both of those positions, Sunderland will be eager to ensure they do not reach the 10-yellow threshold before the cut-off, which will come at the end of Preston North End’s visit to the Stadium of Light on March 11.

Luke O’Nien and Patrick Roberts both have seven yellow cards and so are slightly at risk of reaching 10. Chris Mepham and Chris Rigg are on six so are unlikely to be affected.