Sale Sharks back row Jacques Vermeulen will be unavailable for the rest of October after his four-match ban was confirmed following his red card against Saracens.
The incident came in the 19th minute of Sale's impressive away victory at StoneX Stadium, with Vermeulen shown a 20-minute red card for a dangerous tackle on Tomos Williams.
It came shortly after Sharks centre Alex Lozowski had been shown a yellow card for a similar offence, although Vermeulen's tackle was deemed to be more serious.
Sale also came close to being reduced to 12 men during the match when Courtney Lawes was shown a yellow card for an intentional knock-on. However, the decision was overturned following a TMO review.
Despite the disciplinary issues, Sale held on for an impressive 21-17 victory in North London, securing their first league win of the season after showing plenty of resilience.
Vermeulen was sent off for dangerous play, contrary to World Rugby Law 9.11, during the match against Saracens on Sunday 4th October.
Law 9.11 reads, "Players must not do anything that is reckless or dangerous to others including leading with the elbow or forearm, or jumping into, or over, a tackler."
Vermeulen accepted the charge and was handed a four-match suspension.
As a result, he will miss PREM Rugby fixtures against Harlequins, Newcastle Red Bulls and Bath, as well as Sale's Champions Cup clash with Glasgow Warriors.
His four-match ban means Vermeulen will next be available for the PREM Rugby Cup clash with Bristol Bears on 6th November.
His next league appearance will not come until 6th December, when Sale welcome Exeter Chiefs to the CorpAcq Stadium.
The lengthy gap between league fixtures is due to the month-long break in PREM Rugby for the Nations Championship in November.
England will face Australia, Japan and New Zealand during the international window before the competition concludes with a finals weekend at the end of November.
