WIGAN hooker Terry Newton has been handed a two-match ban for an off-the-ball high tackle on Saints' Jon Wilkin.

The young utility player had to leave the field on a stretcher and had a brace placed on his neck following the late tackle in the second-half of last Friday's defeat for Saints at the JJB Stadium.

Wilkin now faces a lay-off of around six weeks after apparently injuring his knee as he fell, according to coach Ian Millward.

The RFL's disciplinary committee ruled on Friday that Newton, who was put on report for the challenge by referee Ian Smith, was guilty of a 'reckless high tackle'. He was banned and fined £500.

Whether Saints will view the suspension as severe enough is questionable.

Speaking on Tuesday before the verdict, Ian Millward drew comparisons between the Newton tackle and a high challenge by Wilkin himself on Bradford's Paul Deacon earlier this season which resulted in the Saints' man receiving a four-match ban.

Millward claimed: "The way I look at it is when Wilkin tackled Paul Deacon, Paul had the ball Jon hit him high and deserved a penalty.

"If you look at the Newton tackle Jon didn't have the ball so they are different cases, but which one is more severe is up to you yourselves to decide".