Football FanCast columnist Alex Dimond wonders that in light of the horror tackles we have seen in the past week, whether it is now time for the FA to impose greater sanctions on the offenders?

You know what they say about London buses - you wait ages for one, and then two come along at once. Well, the FA might be sharing the same sentiment today, as two high-profile injuries in the past week have increased the clamour for them to place tougher penalties on reckless tackles.

The latest player to be on the receiving end of such a tackle is Rodrigo Possebon, the 19-year-old Manchester United midfielder. After a clash with Middlesbrough's Emmanuel Pogatetz in last night's Carling Cup clash (which United won 3-1), the Brazilian was stretchered off with a suspected broken leg - that could leave him out for up to four months.

Pogatetz, on the other hand, was immediately sent off by referee Andre Marriner - and will await his automatic three match ban from the FA.

The incident is more than reminiscent of two other recent incidents. Just last week Hull City's Craig Fagan suffered a broken leg caused by a malicious swipe from Newcastle's Danny Guthrie and, going further back in time, their was Martin Taylor's tackle on Eduardo last March, an incident the Croatian is yet to fully recover from.

Sir Alex Ferguson, speaking to Setanta Sport, was understandably angry and upset with Pogatetz's reckless challenge:

"You don't want to see things like that and I hope I never see anything like it again," said the United boss. "It is such a pity for the boy and took the gloss off what was a really good performance."

"The thing that gets me about challenges like that is that the opponent always claims he has done nothing wrong.

"[Pogatetz] should have just walked off the field. At least Gareth Southgate was very good about it. He apologised and understood the gravity. It was an absolutely terrible tackle."

Southgate admitted that he had "absolutely no complaints" about the sending off, but this will be of little comfort to Possebon, or his manager.

The question now - as Guthrie and Pogatetz prepare for three match bans (that might be completed in little over two weeks) while their stricken opponents embark on months of gruelling rehab - is should the FA be handing out harsher penalties for such tackles, in a bid to remove them from the game?

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