Having been charged with violent conduct and improper conduct by the FA yesterday, Emmanuel Adebayor is set to be handed some part of his punishment in the next 24 hours.

Man City have until 6pm today to contest the initial charge of violent conduct, a charge which are almost certain to bring the striker a three-match ban. City then has until September 30th to contest the second charge which seems likely to extend that ban by another match. According to reports, City have indeed put together a legal team to contest this second alleged offence.

Should Adeabayor be found guilty of violent conduct, he will miss the Old Trafford derby match this weekend, followed by the Carling Cup clash with Fulham and the home game with West Ham. He would be eligible to return against Villa on October 5th, although this depends on the outcome of the charge for improper conduct. Should he be found guilty of this, he would likely not make a return to first team action until the game at Wigan on October 18th…

City now seem set to face United this weekend without Adebayor, Santa Cruz and Robinho. Carlos Tevez also seems certain to miss out according to reports. That leaves Mark Hughes with Craig Bellamy to lead his attack at Old Trafford. Indeed, the Welshman now looks set to enjoy a continued run in the City starting lineup, offering some alternative to those fantasy managers currently pondering an Adebayor replacement.

Interestingly though, Adebayor has only been sold by just over 7000 of his 150,000+ Fantasy Premier League owners. This is surely likely to change once we have clarity on his suspension.