Sympathy for Leeds United's Liam Cooper as he awaits lengthy ban for violent conduct

Cooper missed last night’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford after accepting a charge that he stamped on defender Reece Oxford during Saturday’s loss at Reading and the 25-year-old is set to be hit with a ban of at least four matches.

Cooper caught Oxford in the face with his boot during the the second half at the Madejski Stadium and was cited by the FA ahead of yesterday’s trip to Griffin Park.

The centre-back opted to plead guilty amid concerns at Elland Road that the FA would mete out a more stringent punishment if he attempted to fight the allegation.

The governing body is expected to confirm the length of his suspension today.

Monk defended Cooper again, insisting he had not shown “intent”, but United’s head coach conceded that the clash had been “reckless”.

“We spoke to Liam and as a club we supported him,” Monk said. “We pleaded guilty to a reckless charge but 100 per cent we didn’t plead guilty to an intent charge.

“We know Liam very well and as a person he’s not like that. One hundred per cent he didn’t intend to stamp on the player but because of the recklessness of it, we decided to plead guilty.”

Cooper has spent much of this season on the bench but he was making his second successive start at Reading having unexpectedly replaced Pontus Jansson in Monk’s starting line-up.

Jansson was back in Monk’s team at Brentford yesterday and is likely to retain his place during the run-in with only six games remaining and Cooper facing an extended absence.

Monk said: “It’s been a little bit like that for Coops this season. He’s got himself back into the team or played games and then either through injury or suspension, and now this, it’s been frustrating for him.

“We feel for him because he’s a fantastic lad and it’s unfortunate. We have to take it on the chin and deal with it.”