Newport hit by suspension blow ahead of Cobblers trip as defender Inniss gets five-match ban for biting

Inniss only joined the the Exiles on loan from Premier League Crystal Palace at the end of last month, but was sent off in his second game for the club in their 5-4 leasing.com Trophy defeat to West Ham United Under-21s.

He was dismissed near the end of the match after a clash with Hammers youngster Reece Hannam, and would normally bring have been handed an automatic three-game ban.

But an allegation of biting from Hannam surfaced after the final whistle and Inniss was subsequently issued with a charge of violent conduct by the governing body.

In a statement, Newport said Inniss had admitted a breach of FA Rule E3(1) and that he now suspended for the next five competitive first-team matches by an independent regulatory commission.

The FA stated: "The members of the commission ordered that the standard punishment of a three-match suspension in this instance be set aside and replaced with a five-match suspension."

When charging Inniss with violent conduct, the FA had said: “It is alleged that his behaviour in or around the 90th minute constitutes violent conduct, in circumstances where the standard punishment that would otherwise apply is clearly insufficient.”

Meanwhile, Newport have also issued a statement saying there has been no approach for their manager Michael Flynn from Lincoln City.

The Imps are looking for a new boss following Danny Cowley's departure to take over at Huddersfield Town, and Flynn is among the favourites to replace him, along with Wycombe's Gareth Ainsworth and former Bolton manager Phil Parkinson.

The club say there has been no contact with Lincoln, and Flynn was playing a straight bat as he spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's trip to the PTS Academy Stadium.

“As far as I know, there has been no interest, all I’m concentrating on is Northampton," said Flynn, who guided Newport to the play-off final last season.

“It’s always flattering (to be linked with other jobs), and it does show that you’re doing things right.

“I’ve sat here many times and just got on with what I needed to do. I think I’ve always been professional in the way I’ve handled it, and it has never affected the players.

“You’ve got to do things right, and until I’m told anything different, I’ll be doing my best for Newport County.

“Every time there’s a vacancy this comes up, but I can’t do anything about it.

"I’m just concentrating on doing my job and it’s not a bad job we’re doing, so I’m really focused on getting the points at Northampton.

"It just goes to show what a good job the players are doing, not just myself and the staff. They deserve a lot of credit for that.

“The way they’ve started the season has been fantastic.

“We’ve got a tough couple of games coming up now. We’ll give it our best shot and try and get the three points, and then worry about Macclesfield next Tuesday.”