Leeds United manager Simon Grayson says that Max Gradel is still very much part of his plans despite starting the season in the stands.
Gradel will miss the first four games of the new Championship season after being sent off in the first half of the last game of the season against Bristol Rovers.
The midfielder picked up an automatic three-match ban for violent conduct after stamping on a Rovers defender and picked up an extra game ban from the FA after refusing to leave the pitch.
Jermaine Beckford and Mike Doyle had to manhandle Gradel off the pitch after his dismissal to stop him getting at referee Graham Salisbury.
Speaking on Radio Leeds, Grayson said, ‘He’s going to suffer by having a four game ban and he’s been fined by the club.
‘He knows he’s let himself down, me down and the fans down.’
Gradel joined from Leicester City last season, initially on a three-month loan deal and then signed a two and a half year deal when the transfer window opened in January.
He became an instant hit with the Leeds faithful with his cameo appearances from the bench during his loan spell.
Gradel played a big part in the run in to the season when he earned a regular starting place upfront alongside Luciano Becchio; he scored three goals in the final seven games of the season to transform Leeds stuttering promotion push.
All that could have been undone on the final day of the season with his sending off, luckily for Gradel the ten men remaining on the pitch dug deep to come from a goal down to win 2-1 and clinch the final automatic promotion spot.
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