Paul Green says he’s disappointed by the light ban given to Manu Ma’u for his knee on Ray Thompson

MANU Ma’u was suspended for two matches for his knee to the face of Ray Thompson but Cowboys coach Paul Green says the punishment was not harsh enough.

TOWNSVILLE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 30: Ray Thompson of the Cowboys passes the ball during the round 12 NRL match between the North Queensland Cowboys and the Manly Sea Eagles at 1300SMILES Stadium on May 30, 2015 in Townsville, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

COWBOYS coach Paul Green says the most unfair aspect of Ray Thompson’s suspected broken cheekbone is that Manu Ma’u will be back playing long before the North Queensland player.

While his Cowboys teammates headed back to Townsville after their 10th straight victory, Thompson remained in Sydney with assistant coach John Cartwright for further scans to determine the extent of the damage done by Ma’u’s raised knee.

It’s the second time in two years Thompson has been floored by a facial injury, after he broke his jaw from a late shoulder charge by Newcastle’s Kade Snowden in round 24, 2013.

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Off-contract at the end of the year, the back-up hooker was only six games into his return to first grade after playing the opening few weeks for the Townsville Blackhawks and had proven a valuable spark off the bench for in-form rake Jake Granville.

Ma’u was yesterday handed a grade two dangerous contact charge for his knee to Thompson’s face during the 39th minute of Monday’s game, meaning he will miss two matches if he takes an early guilty plea.

Despite his suspension, Ma’u will return to the NRL sooner than Thompson.

With Thompson staring at four to six weeks on the sidelines and playing in one of the most tightly contested spots in the Cowboys squad, it’s a cruel blow for the Papua New Guinea international given Ma’u will be back to play in round 17 against Wests Tigers.

“That’s the unfair thing about it, Ray is probably out for between four and six weeks at least and Manu only gets two weeks,” Green said.

“Ray had worked his way back into the team and I thought he was doing a good job there as back-up to Jake.

“We’re disappointed for Ray.”

Green said it was too early to tell just how bad the 25-year-old’s injury would be.

“They’re just assessing how bad it is and whether he’ll need an operation,” he said.

“A few more scans and we’ll know a bit more after that.”

The Cowboys coach said even if there was no malice in the Eels player’s challenge, it still was dangerous play.

“He got him in the head with his knee so whether there was any malice or not, that’s not really for me to say, but the fact is it was illegal what he did,” he said.

Cowboys prop James Tamou was also put on report for a grade one dangerous contact on Pauli Pauli but won’t miss any game time with an early guilty plea.

Originally published as Paul Green says he’s disappointed by the light ban given to Manu Ma’u for his knee on Ray Thompson