Casey McLean is at risk of missing the upcoming match for Penrith against the Dolphins following a one-game suspension handed down to him.

The Panthers center was penalized and sent to the sin-bin during last night’s game for delivering a high tackle on Max King of Canterbury.

As a result of the tackle, King sustained a broken jaw and is anticipated to undergo surgery.

McLean faced a grade-two careless high tackle charge after being sin-binned in the first half of the Bulldogs’ 32-16 victory on Thursday. The sin-binning was applied retroactively, with referee Gerard Sutton halting the game and sending the young Panthers player for a 10-minute cooling-off period several plays later.

Penrith’s coach, Ivan Cleary, expressed his initial thoughts regarding the incident, stating, “My first impressions were shaped by the pub test, where players typically do not see or feel the impact.” He added, “It could have involved a shoulder colliding with the head, resulting in some whiplash… it’s difficult to provide a definitive assessment due to the limited footage available.”

Consequently, Cleary may have to plan without the 19-year-old McLean for the Panthers’ upcoming trip to Darwin to take on the Dolphins next week.

If McLean decides to accept the suspension through an early guilty plea, he will be sidelined for one game. However, if he chooses to contest the charge and is unsuccessful, he could face an additional match suspension from the NRL judiciary.

The prospect of an appeal becomes increasingly unlikely with the news of King’s broken jaw, which puts a significant damper on the Bulldogs’ momentum after they appeared to be making progress.

Additionally, Canterbury’s Kurt Mann received a charge for a high tackle on Scott Sorensen but is set to avoid a suspension, as he will only incur a fine of $1,000.