Canberra Raiders forward Corey Horsburgh had been found guilty of a shoulder charge at the NRL judiciary and will miss the next four matches for the club.
It means Horsburgh will only be available to play again if the Raiders make the grand final, something that has looked increasingly unlikely in recent times.
Any matches not served this season will be carried over to next year, making it highly likely the forward will not be available in the opening weeks of 2024.
More immediately, it also means Horsburgh will be unavailable for the Raiders' crunch match in Round 27 with the Cronulla Sharks.
If both the North Queensland Cowboys (playing the Penrith Panthers) and the Sydney Roosters (playing the South Sydney Rabbitohs) manage victories this weekend, then Canberra will need to win the final game of the season on the road to qualify for the top eight.
It comes after Horsburgh was charged for his shoulder charge tackle during Canberra's controversial Round 26 clash with the Brisbane Broncos.
The tackle, on Corey Jensen, saw mixed reviews, with the Grade 1 charge handed down by the match review committee upheld by the NRL's judiciary panel of chairman Justice Geoffrey Bellew, former Kangaroo Bob Linder and former referee Sean Hampstead.
Horsburgh's lawyer Nick Ghabar argued that Horsburgh had been aiming to use both arms and make a wrapping motion in the tackle, while the NRL's counsel Mark Knowles suggested Horsburgh made no attempt to use the arm and came out of the line at Jensen on a diagonal angle.
Horsburgh was named at his usual position of lock forward on Tuesday afternoon for Canberra ahead of the Round 27 battle with Cronulla, but will now need to be replaced, with Pasami Saulo or Trey Mooney the most likely inclusions from the reserves list.
It comes as a double blow for the Raiders with the club also confirming on Tuesday that Josh Papalii's season is over after the veteran forward suffered a biceps tendon injury which has ended his season.