Soccer: Leipzig's Forsberg banned for rest of season

BERLIN (Reuters) - RB Leipzig will be without playmaker Emil Forsberg in their battle for a Champions League spot in the remaining three Bundesliga matches after he was banned following a red card, the German Football Association said on Tuesday.

The World Cup-bound Sweden midfielder was handed a three-game suspension after being sent off in Leipzig’s 5-2 home loss to Hoffenheim on Saturday for hitting an opponent in the neck as he tried to break free from a challenge.

Leipzig, last season’s surprise runners-up, only have a slim chance of a top-four finish, lying in sixth place on 47 points, four behind Bayer Leverkusen in fourth.

The top four clubs qualify for the lucrative Champions League group stage. Leipzig travel to struggling Mainz 05 this week before playing VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin.