Penrith Panthers reveal brutal Nathan Cleary injury blow

The defending premier Penrith Panthers’ season is off to an inauspicious start after the side confirmed a Nathan Cleary blow.

Nathan Cleary looks to the skies before the 2021 NRL grand final.

Penrith Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary will miss at least the first three weeks of the NRL season after off-season shoulder surgery.

Cleary suffered the injury during State of Origin game two last year and required surgery that would have ruled him out for the remainder of the season.

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However, Cleary instead played out the remainder of the season after a lay off for recovery before leading the Panthers to premiership glory over the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Clive Churchill Medallist for man of the match in the grand final then went under the knife for the shoulder reconstruction and rotator cuff repair.

But despite the surgery, Cleary is still recovering and will be unavailable for the first three weeks of the season, meaning he’ll miss the Manly game as well as clashes with the Dragons and Knights. It means he’s set to return to the field for the grand final rematch against the Rabbitohs on April 1.

There had been speculation Cleary would slot straight back into the team to start the year but coach Ivan Cleary revealed that Nathan would spend a few weeks on the sidelines.

“With a long and challenging season ahead of us, it’s critical that we give Nathan the time he needs to return at his physical best,” coach Ivan Cleary said.

“While it’s obviously a difficult decision and of course we would have loved to have him out there, we believe this will ensure Nathan has the best opportunity to play throughout the year at the level he demands of himself.”

Nathan Cleary will miss an opportunity against DCE. Picture: Tim Hunter.

It means off-season signing Sean O’Sullivan will likely line up in the No. 7 for the side’s season opener against the Manly Sea Eagles on Thursday night as the team confirmed he would make his regular season debut for the club.

The Panthers will be hoping for a better turn out than O’Sullivan’s last game for the club during the trials as a severely understrength Panthers were trounced 36-0 by the Parramatta Eels.

It’s a tough blow for Cleary as it comes after Australia representative coach Mal Meninga said that Cherry-Evans is “the one to beat” for the national jersey for the season-ending World Cup.

“Daly is definitely the one to beat,” Meninga said.

“Nathan Cleary is pretty close behind him.

“It’s going to be an interesting year. Whoever comes out on top of that battle will probably be the national seven.

“We’ll have to see how the season pans out, but at this stage it’s pretty clear in my mind.

This is despite Cleary being right up in the Dally M voting and seen as one of the best players in the game, if not the best.

Cherry-Evans responded to the comments and said Meninga “wouldn’t make those comments unless the footy was there to back that up”.

However, Cleary has since said Cherry-Evans deserves his position in the game.

“It is probably fair enough, you know Daly has been there before and he is a great player and from what it looks like he is obviously a good leader too,” Cleary said.

“It is obviously a long way away, I would love the opportunity to play for Australia at some stage but it is not something that’s on my mind at the moment, I just want to get back on the field and play for Penrith and see where that takes me.”

However, the first chance for a head-to-head clash will now go begging.

It will be the only clash between the Panthers and Sea Eagles this season, meaning the next duel will be during the Origin period.