SWINDON Town forward Harry McKirdy has been fined £1,000 by the FA for comments he made on social media last month.

Following a 2-1 victory over Bradford City, McKirdy appeared to use a profanity in an Instagram post where he criticised referee Paul Howard for showing him a 10th yellow card of the season.

The caution - picked up for a handball offence during the second half - caused the 25-year-old to be banned for two games as Town lost 3-1 at Exeter City before beating Oldham Athletic 1-0 at the County Ground.

Having been found guilty of breaching FA Rule E3.1, McKirdy admitted that his comments were "improper, insulting and bring the game into disrepute."

The striker is currently out injured and is thought to miss the majority of Town's remaining seven games.

Head coach Ben Garner recently stated the club's top scorer would not miss the rest of the season but said he would be absent for the weekend's 0-0 draw against Rochdale at least due to a calf problem sustained in training.

Following Saturday's stalemate, Swindon fell to 10th but remain just two points off the play-offs and four points away from the automatic places.

Although McKirdy will not be available for the weekend's key fixture at home to Newport County, Garner's men will be able to welcome back influential midfielder Louis Reed.

The 24-year-old had been missing for the past two games after receiving his second red card of the season late on in the 2-1 victory over Sutton United last month.

When Reed has not been in the team, Town have failed to win any of their six outings (four defeats, two draws).