The Penrith Panthers are now hopeful that Nathan Cleary could be ready to return to play as soon as Round One, 2027, after confirming his brutal injury in the preliminary final isn’t quite as bad as first feared — though it will still take some serious recovery work.
The now-reigning Dally M Medallist has undergone two rounds of surgery since the horrific incident against the Newcastle Knights on September 27, with the majority of work going into what was widely reported as a double fracture in his tibia and fibula alongside a compound fracture.
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Reports may not have been accurate, though, with the actual details as follows: Cleary first had work on a broken and dislocated ankle, and then went in for a second surgery for a fracture in his other foot.
“In terms of Nathan, the reporting kept saying it was a double fracture (but) it wasn’t a double fracture,” Penrith legend Greg Alexander suggested on radio this week.
“So, the two bones in your legs, fibula and tibia… he broke the fibula, the smaller bone. That wasn’t where the compound fracture came [from]. The pressure was on the tibia, which wasn’t broken, so it wasn’t a double fracture.”
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Famed physio Brien Seeney, who works in the NRL media, said that a tibia fracture often leads to “long, complicated recoveries,” whereas the fibula is far easier to manage.
Whether the Panthers actually decide to play Cleary in round one remains to be seen, of course.
He will definitely miss the 2026 World Cup, though; that starts next week.
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