Smith's early return
09 Feb 2007 - 11:47:39
Port Vale's teenage midfielder Christian Smith has returned from his loan spell with Cambridge United ahead of schedule after picking up a red card in only his second game for the Conference strugglers.
The 19-year-old was handed a three-game ban after being dismissed in the 1-1 draw at the Kassam Stadium.
"He was sent off for a two-footed tackle and I'm very frustrated for him," Vale boss Martin Foyle told the Stoke Sentinel.
"It's a part of his game that we've been talking about for ages, but the penny hasn't dropped yet.
"He's a decent kid and we wanted to get him out on loan to get experience and help him develop.
"He's out for three weeks and we'll have to see what happens now and whether Cambridge will want to take him on loan again."