Nathan Cleary set to play again this year as Panthers get positive news about injured halfback

The Penrith Panthers have provided a positive update on Nathan Cleary's latest injury, revealing the champion halfback won't require surgery despite dislocating his shoulder on Thursday night. Cleary was forced to leave the field in the second half of Penrith's 24-22 loss to the Melbourne Storm, and underwent scans on Friday to assess the extent of the damage.

The scans only revealed minor damage, and Cleary won't need surgery to fix the issue. Cleary suffered a dislocation/instability issue, which occurred during a tackle with Josh King, and he appeared devastated in the dressing rooms after the game as he cut a forlorn figure with heavy ice packs on his left shoulder.

It's the other shoulder to the one he damaged in 2021, when he had a stint on the sidelines before playing through the pain to win the grand final. He eventually had to undergo surgery in the off-season, and it's looking like a similar scenario in 2024.

In a startling revelation, coach Ivan Cleary said his son had aggravated an injury that had been troubling him since the pre-season. "I'm concerned," Ivan said in his press conference. "It was bad enough for him to come off. We'll organise the scans tomorrow, until we get those, we'll be in a better position to see our way forward."

According the 'NRL Physio' Brien Seeney, a shoulder dislocation isn't a disastrous outcome for Cleary and the Panthers. With only minor damage, Cleary might miss just two games and could be ready for the start of the NRL finals in three weeks' time. On Friday, the Panthers said their plan is to have him ready to play at some stage in the finals as they seek a fourth-straight NRL title.

Nathan Cleary's season from hell with multiple injuries

With three games remaining until the NRL finals, Panthers fans will be hoping the damage is only minor and Cleary can make it back for the playoffs. It's been a turbulent year for the champion halfback, who suffered a hamstring injury in Round 3 and then aggravated it in Round 10 in just his second game back.

He spent 10 weeks on the sidelines getting his hamstring right before returning last month, only to do his shoulder on Thursday night. "He's in better shape than he was when he did his hammy. Hopefully that means it's good news," Ivan Cleary said. "What do you do? It's just one of those years."

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Co-captain Isaah Yeo backed Nathan to return this year, while also stating his team would lift without him. Penrith have won seven of 11 games without Cleary this season, largely thanks to the form of Wests Tigers-bound five-eighth Jarome Luai.

"We've been playing games without Nathan for big chunks of the year because of his hammy," Yeo said. "That should give us confidence that we know we can do it. Obviously we'll have to change a little bit but I thought 'Romey' (Luai) over that period of time has been really good for us.

"It just means there's going to have to be individuals who step up. But it certainly hasn't been new this season. [Cleary] is the most diligent man I know, in terms of that, the confidence will be sky-high, he'll tick every box for sure."

Panthers legend Greg Alexander said in commentary for Fox League: "He would be devastated. Not knowing the seriousness of it but it certainly didn’t look good and there was very limited movement in that arm when he left the field, he was keeping it very still. So you would think he’s dislocated it, whether it’s popped back in itself, which it can do, or they had to put it back in which wouldn’t be a good situation.”

with AAP