"Need to keep him" - Preston North End urged to stick by Milutin Osmajic despite biting probe | OneFootball

The FA are investigating claims from Blackburn Rovers surrounding a bite from Osmajic on Owen Beck.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Preston North End are facing a nervous wait as the FA investigate claims from Blackburn Rovers over an alleged bite from Milutin Osmajic on Owen Beck.

The incident occurred in the 89th minute after Beck was sent off due to kicking Duane Holmes following a foul in the 0-0 draw.

The clash between the Liverpool loanee and Preston's number 25, Holmes, caused a melee between both teams. Replays from TV showed that during the scuffle, Osmajic leaned towards Beck's neck and appeared to bite the 22-year-old.

The Blackburn defender tried to explain to both referee Matthew Donohue and his assistant that he had been bitten, but his protests were seemingly ignored.

Following the match, Rovers manager John Eustace spoke about the situation to BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's a very serious incident, no-one likes to be bitten.

"Everyone's angry about it. It's not a nice situation to be in. I'm sure the right people will see it, and we'll take it from there."

Questions will now be asked over the length of the ban that Osmajic will get if found guilty, and any potential punishment that his club may give the player themselves.

Milutin Osmajic 'bite' was reckless and lengthy ban could be in order

Although it was near impossible to see in real-time, replays have shown that Osmajic could be in grave trouble with the FA. They opened an investigation into the incident relatively quickly, and similar situations in the past have resulted in long-term bans.

Former Liverpool striker, Luis Suarez, was banned for 10 matches in 2013 for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic, before being given a four-month ban by FIFA just a year later for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup in Uruguay's 1-0 win over Italy.

Lilywhites supporters will be extremely frustrated with their striker if the FA enacts a similar ban on Osmajic, and it could leave Paul Heckingbottom with a selection headache for the foreseeable future.

Football League World asked Preston Fan Pundit, Darren Watson, for his thoughts on the incident and whether it could lead to Osmajic leaving the club in January.

"I was at the game on Sunday and I didn't actually see the incident in the heat at the moment, b ut, looking back on social media platforms and looking at the videos from Sky, it doesn't look pretty at all," Darren told FLW.

"I don't know what Osmajic was thinking. I think, obviously, a lengthy ban could be on its way.

"The Luis Suarez situation comes into mind. I know Suarez got a 10-game ban for his bite that he did when he was playing, but obviously, we’ve got to see what the punishment is for Osmajic.

"To be honest, when he came on, he didn't look sharp.

"I don't know whether that was fitness, whether it was an injury or whether it was just a lack of fitness in general, but he didn't look fit. It didn't look like he wanted to go out and attack the ball, run down players when he was obviously playing up front on his own.

"He didn't look his sharpest, but again, he can score goals, and he is a decent player on his day, but we need consistency with the team.

"He doesn't need to be loaned out or sold. I think we need to keep him. I think we need to keep players, especially striking options, at the club.

"We know that Will Keane’s coming back from injury and a couple of players that are down with illness, we do need to keep him.

"I do rate Osmajic, but I think what he did was stupid and unnecessary. Obviously, we’ll have to wait and see what the ban is for him."

Will Keane's return will ease Preston North End fears of losing Milutin Osmajic for lengthy period

Heckingbottom will expect to go into Preston's trip to Millwall on Saturday without Osmajic, and being a striker down will have an impact.

However, with Will Keane slowly coming back from injury, this selection issue has been alleviated slightly.

The 31-year-old missed the Lilywhites' 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough following the international break, although he did make a return to the bench on Sunday against Blackburn.

There is not much certainty surrounding the striker's current fitness levels, and pushing him into the fold immediately could be a worry. The next few weeks will be extremely important for him to get back up to speed, and he could be crucial for Preston.