Plymouth Argyle dealt hammer blow ahead of crucial Championship survival battles against Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth and Derby

Miron Muslic’s relegation-threatened side welcome an out-of-sorts Sheffield Wednesday outfit to Home Park today, before they travel to Fratton Park in midweek for a huge match-up against John Mousinho’s Blues.

The Pilgrims then head home again to play host to current bottom-of-the-table side Derby County next Saturday, with the loser of that game looking increasingly likely to return to League One for the 2025-26 campaign.

But now they’ll have to face up to those tough challenges without a mainstay of their season to date - midfielder Adam Randell.

No-one has started more Championship games for Plymouth this term than the 24-year-old - who had 31 starts to his name before injury ruled him out of matches against Manchester City (FA Cup) and Hull.

He was expected to return to the first-team for Saturday’s league game against Wednesday. But Randell’s next game won’t now be until March 29 - after the forthcoming international break - after he was hit with a three-match ban.

Following the Pilgrims’ 1-1 draw with fellow Championship strugglers Cardiff on February 22, it was alleged that following the final whistle Randell acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct and/or threatening behaviour towards a match official in or around the match officials’ dressing room.

The midfielder admitted the Football Association charge and an independent Regulatory Commission subsequently issued him with a three-match suspension and £4,000 fine which starts today.

Two members of Argyle's medical team have also been sanctioned - physio Alex Kay and sports therapist Abner Bruzzichessi, who were both found to have acted in an improper manner in or around the dressing room after the match had finished.

The suspension means Muslic - at present - goes into the next three games with just Malachi Boateng, Darko Gyabi and Jordan Houghton as his midfield options. Of that three, only Gyabi can count himself as a regular starter for the Pilgrims.

Pompey v Plymouth Argyle

The news will no doubt be welcomed by Pompey, who sit 17th in the table going into this weekend’s round of fixtures and nine points above Plymouth in the Championship table.

But the Blues have their own problems to contend with, with up to nine players potentially out of their home game against league leaders Leeds United on Sunday.

The current injury crisis at Fratton Park saw Pompey raid the free-transfer market for former Sweden international centre-back Alexander Milosevic on Friday, with the 33-year-old expected to be in contention to play in the game against Plymouth. It’s not clear yet whether his international clearance will have been granted in time to feature against Leeds.

A win for the Blues on Wednesday night will move them a step closer to Championship survival. It will also help put the bed the 1-0 defeat they suffered at Home Park back in November, when substitute Michael Obafemi’s late strike earned the hosts an unlikely victory against a Pompey side that looked the far better team on the night.

For your next Pompey read: Why Manchester City's Erling Haaland won't be sending Portsmouth's latest signing any good-luck messages after free transfer move to Fratton Park