By james art Nathan Cleary is in a tight race to be ready for the Panthers’ season opener in Las Vegas, although club doctors are confident he will be on the field against the Sharks.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Cleary will undergo the same Latarjet surgery he had in late 2021.
He will have surgery next Monday, giving him 16 weeks to be fit. Panthers doctors expect recovery time to be 15 weeks.
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Nathan Cleary is racing to be ready for the Panthers’ season opener in Las Vegas. Getty
Cleary was unable to go under the knife immediately after their fourth consecutive premiership because the surgeon was on annual leave.
It meant Cleary was able to enjoy a few weeks in Europe with girlfriend Mary Fowler – whose Matildas drew 1-all in a friendly with Switzerland on Saturday morning (AEDT).
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Cleary missed the first four weeks of the 2022 season, though some of that recovery time was for cartilage and rotator cuff damage that needed to heal.
This time around, the Panthers medical staff expects a much quicker recovery time.
Cleary isn’t the only Panther to go under the knife in the off-season, with Liam Henry also having shoulder surgery.