Parramatta forward Manu Ma’u will miss two NRL games after submitting an early guilty plea for his raised knee to the face of North Queensland’s Ray Thompson.

Ma’u was handed a grade-two dangerous contact charge for the incident just before halftime in the Eels’ 36-30 loss to the Cowboys on Monday night.

It left the Cowboys hooker with a suspected fractured cheekbone.

Ma’u was looking at three matches on the sidelines if he fought the charge but the 26-year-old opted for the early plea, which will see him return for the round-17 clash with the Wests Tigers after missing games against Melbourne and St George Illawarra.