STEVEN Nzonzi will have to miss Blackburn Rovers’ next three Premier League matches after the club reluctantly decided not to appeal against his Emirates sending off.

Boss Steve Kean is adamant Phil Dowd’s decision to give the midfielder a straight red card late in Saturday’s goalless draw with Arsenal was harsh but feared an official protest could prove even more expensive.

The Frenchman was sent off for a two-footed tackle on Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny and, despite getting the ball, opinions were split over Dowd’s treatment of the challenge post match.

Rovers reviewed the footage closely yesterday morning before making a final decision but the danger of having the ban extended to four games if their appeal was unsuccessful proved too big a risk to take.

For an appeal to succeed, the club in question would have to prove the referee had made the wrong decision and Rovers felt that would be a difficult task with the challenge too open to interpretation.

Nzonzi, last season’s player of the season, will now miss important games against Birmingham and Manchester City at home as well as a trip to Everton but will be back for the visit of Bolton at the end of the month as the battle for survival hots up.