A disciplinary panel met this week to consider the case against the 21-year-old after he was cited for an incident which occurred during the match between Hawick and Edinburgh Academicals last month.

Mactaggart was found guilty of foul play, which resulted in Accies captain Mark Teague requiring 50 stitches in an ear wound.

His ban is up to and including Wednesday, December 17.

The latest setback for Hawick comes as Rory Hutton and Graham Hogg were both included in the Scotland Sevens squad for the start of the IRB Sevens World Series, which gets under way next weekend in Dubai, with a tournament in South Africa the following week.

That leaves Greens coach Jim Hay with two huge gaps to fill in his back line for tomorrow's crucial match against Heriot's, a trip to Ayr and the home clash against West of Scotland.

Hay said: "Obviously it's a big blow to lose Graham and Rory for the three important games. Essentially, we're losing our midfield."

The inclusion of Edinburgh pro Callum MacRae could help this week although it was unclear at the time of going to press whether the Edinburgh pro would be fit for the clash.