Kane Hames was banned yesterday for five weeks for striking Dominic Bird in Saturday night's match against the Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Hames struck Bird with about five minutes left in the game in a maul.
Bird was forced off the field as he could not see after picking up a black eye and a cut. Whether he will be available for the Crusaders' Saturday night game against the Chiefs is unclear.
Hames was cited after the match along with Crusaders prop Owen Franks, who struck Josh Hohneck early on in the game.
Hames' offence was deemed to be bad enough to reach the red card threshold. Referee Ben O'Keefe did not penalise either incident.
Hames pleaded guilty to the charge of striking a player and Sanzar judicial officer Robert Stelzner said he started at a mid-range entry point of banning Hames for five weeks.
An aggravating factor was the injury to Bird and it was to be a deterrent for this type of conduct. However, Hames was given credit for showing remorse and pleading guilty.
In fact, Hames will be out for more than five weeks and will next be available for the Highlanders' match against the Crusaders in Christchurch on April 11.
He has to miss the next five rounds of the competition and his ban finishes the day after the match against the Stormers on March 28.
The next week the Highlanders have a bye and do not play again until the southern derby in Christchurch.
Hames had a great season last year, coming from nowhere to start the majority of games.
He received a one-week suspension last year when he charged into Blues lock Hayden Triggs.
With Hames out, and fellow prop Pingi Tala'pitaga struggling with a knee injury, the Highlanders have just four props available - Ross Geldenhuys, Josh Hohneck, Ma'afu Fia and Brendon Edmonds - for the match against the Reds on Friday night.
Two props are on the bench in every game.
