Nathan Cleary suffers 'setback' as expected NRL return for Panthers thrown into doubt

Panthers fans might be forced to wait a little longer to see Nathan Cleary in action, with the Penrith halfback reportedly suffering a setback in his recovery from a hamstring injury. Cleary hasn't played for the last two weeks and was thought to be targeting the round seven clash with Wests Tigers after the Panthers' bye this weekend.

But the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday that Cleary is now racing the clock to be fit for the Tigers game. The Panthers co-captain's recovery is said to be taking longer than the club expected, but Penrith have moved to stress that he hasn't aggravated the injury.

The Panthers are unlikely to rush Cleary back sooner than necessary, and the Tigers game looms as one they can afford their halfback to miss. The Panthers have beaten the Roosters in Cleary's absence, but were thrashed by the Sea Eagles last weekend. The three-time defending premiers will take on the Cowboys in round eight, which looms as Cleary's more likely return date.

Nathan Cleary battling a number of niggling injuries

Panthers coach and Nathan's father Ivan Cleary had previously revealed the hamstring injury was somewhat of a 'blessing in disguise' as it would allow the halfback to get a number of niggles under control. The 26-year-old's hamstring injury is his second in two years after he suffered a tear to his left leg in 2023.

"Nat seems to have a sabbatical every year, this one's a bit earlier," Ivan Cleary said. "It's not too bad, that's the pleasing thing. He felt the same thing last year before he actually did it properly. The fact that he had that experience means we cut this one off a bit sooner. Hopefully it'll only be a couple of weeks.

"He's had a (plantar) fasciitis injury in his foot since pre-season. Sometimes that plays a part. He's been struggling with that for a bit. This might be a silver lining, where he can fix that up as well in the meantime."

Jarome Luai cleared of knee injury in boost for Panthers

In better news for the Panthers, Cleary's halves partner Jarome Luai has been cleared of a knee injury and won't spend any time on the sidelines. During the first half of Penrith's 32-18 loss to Manly last Saturday, Luai was crunched in a tackle from Jaxson Paulo and Ben Trbojevic as the Panthers five-eighth attempted to defuse a kick.

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Luai's left knee was attended to by trainers, and he was taken off the field with 12 minutes remaining. Coach Ivan Cleary was optimistic about Luai's prognosis immediately after the game, and scans have since revealed no damage to the knee. Luai was back in Penrith's gym on Tuesday to train on his day off.

with AAP