Plymouth Argyle suffer big player blow for Sheffield Wednesday, Portsmouth, Derby County fixtures | OneFootball

Argyle's Championship survival bid has taken a huge blow.

Plymouth Argyle midfielder Adam Randell has received a three-game suspension after being charged with misconduct in Argyle's 1-1 draw with Cardiff City last month.

As revealed via Plymouth Live on Saturday, the 24-year-old central midfielder will now miss this afternoon's home clash with Sheffield Wednesday, as well as two crucial upcoming relegation battles with Portsmouth and Derby County respectively.

Randell was alleged to have acted in an improper manner and/or used violent conduct and/or threatening behaviour towards a match official after the conclusion of Argyle's draw with the Bluebirds on 22 February.

Plymouth Argyle midfielder Adam Randell slapped with three-match suspension

As reported via Plymouth Live, Randell has been handed a three-game ban after admitting to a charge of misconduct from the Football Association following on from the draw with Cardiff last month.

His suspension will be effective immediately, meaning the centre-midfielder will now miss Plymouth's next three games against Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Portsmouth respectively.

On top of that, Randell has also been issued with a £4,000 fine, and will next be available for selection for the Pilgrims' away trip to Watford on 29 March after the Championship resumes following the upcoming international break.

Losing Randell will be a huge blow to Plymouth Argyle's Championship survival hopes

Losing Randell at this stage of the season, and in the manner that they have, will undoubtedly be of huge frustration to Plymouth and their manager, Miron Muslic.

Randell has been a key member of Argyle's starting XI for a number of years now, and has been one of Plymouth's better players during what has been a fairly miserable season so far at Home Park.

An important contributor in both the attacking and defensive phases of the game, the Plymouth academy graduate will be a tough presence to replace in Muslic's engine room over the next trio of games.

With vital, and potentially season-defining clashes with Portsmouth and Derby to come during Randell's suspension, not being able to field a player of his quality and importance could hammer home one of the final nails in Argyle's Championship coffin this season.

Malachi Boateng, Jordan Houghton and Darko Gyabi will be the likely candidates to fill his void in the starting XI over the next week, and whoever it is will need to hit the ground running in a crucial department of Plymouth's team.