Lerma will hope not to miss games

Jefferson Lerma has until Thursday to respond to a 'biting' charge during the Sheffield Wednesday match in November. Lerma is on a charge that he broke FA rule E3 by attempting to harm an opponent - Josh Windas - an allegation Lerma 'strenuously denies', says the Bournemouth Echo.

Lerma could be on the sidelines.

Bournemouth have not been too lucky when defending such charges in the past. I remember the stamping incident with Tyrone Mings and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, in 2017, when Mings was subsequently banned for five games. Football is a physical game and there is a fine line between playing with a lot of aggression and pushing things too far. Retaliation is something that can happen on the pitch, but it's hoped that referees deal with any incidents at the time. Now it is more of a spectacle, which isn't fair for players.

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We will see whether Jefferson Lerma's case is dismissed or not. If he is not acquitted he could see a lengthy ban of a few games. That could mean Lerma misses games in early January. It is never a good time to lose such an influential player, even if Bournemouth do have a good number of central midfielders to cover in that area.

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It may be that Gosling simply comes back into the starting line up, but let's hope that Lerma is innocent and can carry on playing. Nmandi Ofoborh will also be hoping to get some game time soon and he could be given his chance against Oldham in the FA Cup. It is a busy period coming up and Bournemouth will need their best payers on the pitch.

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Lerma is undoubtedly a player that Jason Tindall will want to play as many games as he can this season. While a rest may do him some good, I have no doubt that Lerma would rather be playing.

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