Gareth Ainsworth has moved to defend Garry Thompson after the Wycombe Wanderers forward was sent off for a two footed foul during Tuesday’s win at Dagenham.

The 35-year-old was shown the straight red card an hour into proceedings at Victoria Road after he had flown into a lunging challenge on Joss Labadie.

It was a poor tackle from Thompson, who had earlier been involved in the foul which led to Josh Passley’s first-half dismissal, but Ainsworth made it clear that Wycombe’s top scorer was not the sort of player to intentionally foul anybody.

He said: “There is no malice in Garry at all. I spoke to him and he has apologised to the boys after the game.

“I think there was a little tug on him before he made the tackle and I think that was crucial in him arriving at the challenge a little late.

“It is difficult because the referee lets as much go as possible and he plays advantage. I have no problem with that though and it probably was a red card.”

Thompson’s challenge was severe enough to warrant a three match ban. He will therefore miss Saturday’s match with Exeter, a daunting trip to league leaders Northampton and the visit of promotion chasing Bristol Rovers.

It was Thompson’s first start since the 2-0 defeat against Leyton Orient, and Ainsworth had opted to play Gozie Ugwu up front for the previous two matches.

He will again have to make changes and the Wycombe boss wants to see one of his other attacking players take advantage of the disappointment of losing Thompson.

“We will miss Garry now for three games which is a big blow for us,” Ainsworth explained.

“Again though it presents another opportunity, and I am sure that the strikers and the wingers will have itchy feet now thinking about who is going to get their chance to come in.”