Surgeon's holiday leaves Nathan Cleary in fitness race ahead of Las Vegas opener
Nathan Cleary is in a tight race to be fit for the Panthers' season opener in Las Vegas, although club medics are confident he'll take the field against the Sharks.
The Sydney Morning Herald reports Cleary is set to undergo the same Latarjet surgery he had at the end of 2021.
He will have the surgery next Monday, giving him 16 weeks to be fit. Panthers medics expect the recovery time to be 15 weeks.
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Nathan Cleary is in a race to be fit for the Panthers' season-opener in Las Vegas. Getty
Cleary was unable to go under the knife immediately after their fourth-straight premiership because the surgeon was on annual leave.
It meant Cleary has been able to enjoy several weeks in Europe with girlfriend Mary Fowler – whos 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, although part of that recovery time was also for cartilage and rotator cuff damage that needed to heal.
Panthers medical staff are expecting a much quicker recovery time this time around.
Cleary isn't the only Panther to go under the knife in the off-season, with Liam Henry also having shoulder surgery.
