Leeds United coach Jesse Marsch calls for better protection of flair players after Crysencio Summeville injury and WIlly Gnotno 'bullying'

Leeds United expect to be without Crysencio Summerville for a month after the ankle injury he suffered in Sunday's 2-2 FA Cup third-round draw at Cardiff City.

Joel Bagan picked up a yellow card for the challenge, and later received another.

But Marsch thinks the harsh treatment of flair players is typical across the board in English football.

"The ankle injury and tackle he sustained in the Cardiff match is a little bit of a talking point for me because I think between Cree and Willy specifically, opponents have tried to bully them," he said. "They have a hard time containing them when they dribble and frankly I don't think the referees have protected those two players well enough and so it's made them susceptible to injury.

"I would like to see the referees protecting attacking players more so we're a little disappointed that Cree will be out. He's hopeful that it will be quicker than a month but that's what the prognosis is right now."

It is bad news for the winger, who has progressed at speed since his full Premier League debut at Leicester City in October.

"You just feel bad for Cree because you know he's in a good way and you want him to continue his progress," said Marsch. "He took a whack against Elche (in a mid-season friendly), a really bad whack that he never really came back from and then he's taken more whacks in the matches recently.

"When you're not the biggest guy but you're very nimble and quick and very difficult for defenders to deal with, sometimes it's a tactic and sometimes it's just that they're too fast for the opponent.

"But when we lost Luis (Sinsterra) for a long time and when we've lost Patrick, different guys that we feel are important, it's disappointing because we want the team to have the chance to be at its best.

"But this is also part of the reality and it's time for other guys to step up and one of the good things was to see Sonny Perkins, when he had his opportunity (at Cardiff) to step up for the team in a big way he was ready and he helped us."

Marsch says he has tried not get too involved with discussions with the PGMOL, the organisation which controls referees and who recently appointed a new boss in former Rotherham referee Howard Webb.

"I have tried to eliminate most discussions about the referees or with the referees that's either in the media or behind behind closed doors," he said. "Just because I'm I haven't found it to be very useful.

"The different leagues I've been at internally there's been discussion within the referee ranks about protecting attacking players.

"The different leagues I've been at, internally there's been discussion within the referee ranks about protecting attacking players.

"I think the biggest thing they've done here in England that makes it different than a lot of leagues is the automatic three-game ban for straight reds, which I think is a good thing.

"But there's also just managing it in the match to make sure that the players that most fans come to see have the best chance of being on the pitch."

Bamford will be in the squad for Friday's Premier League match at Aston Villa but Sinisterra is not yet ready to return.

Marsch also asked Leeds fans to come up with "more respectful" lyrics for their chant towards Willy Gnonto.

The Football Association has written to all clubs across the Premier League, Football League, National League, Women's Super League and the four tiers below to remind them "it can pursue formal disciplinary action against any club whose supporters engage in discriminatory behaviour".

The letter is largely a reaction to homophobic chants directed towards former Chelsea players but in this environment they would also be likely to take a dim view of the admittedly light-hearted reference to Gnonto.

Mateusz Klich's move to Major League Soccer side DC United was finally confirmed on Thursday, whilst 19-year-old defender Leo Fuhr Hjelde has joined Championship side Rotherham United on loan.