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Aston Villa to fine Jordan Ayew for 'stupid' red card - Remi Garde

Aston Villa boss Remi Garde confirmed Jordan Ayew will be fined for his red card at West Ham, as the manager's striking woes continued.

Five-goal forward Ayew was dismissed for an elbow on Aaron Cresswell in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat at Upton Park and is now banned for three games.

And to make matters worse for Villa, striker Libor Kozak has been ruled out for a month after it was revealed he has suffered a minor fracture to his ankle.

Villa, the Premier League's bottom club, only have Gabriel Agbonlahor and Scott Sinclair available in attack for their crunch clash with Norwich on Saturday, and Garde admitted that Ayew will be disciplined.

"He came to my office the morning after the game and we had a long chat. Yes, he will be fined," Garde said.

"He regrets it, he apologised publicly, he apologised to me, the team and the fans. He behaves badly on the pitch, but then he behaved the way he has to after that.

"It's an accumulation of frustration, a little bit during the game, but this frustration has grown in the previous weeks with the results and the way we were not winning games. For a long time he was the main threat for the opponent.

"I wouldn't like it if we sum up Jordan from this stupid behaviour. I'm trying to understand why he did that and of course he has to learn from it. Your individual attitude can have a big impact on the collective."

Ayew's possible replacement Agbonlahor has not scored for almost a year, while Sinclair's last league goal came in August, but Villa must rely on the pair to start to claw back the 10-point gap to safety against fourth-from-bottom Norwich.

Rudy Gestede is also out with a hamstring injury and Garde confirmed that Kozak, who has only made five appearances this season, is unlikely to return until next month.

"Libor is suffering a little fracture on the ankle. He will be out for four weeks now," the manager said. "Rudy could be back for next weekend."

Ashley Westwood (calf) could return, but Carlos Sanchez (hamstring) and Adama Traore (foot) remain out.

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