Hamstring injury rules Nathan Cleary out of entire State of Origin series

UPDATED: Nathan Cleary will miss the entire State of Origin series, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Cleary underwent scans on Saturday, which confirmed a grade two hamstring tear. He will spend at least eight weeks on the sidelines.

It's the same injury Manly fullback Tom Trbojevic suffered a night earlier on Thursday. He will also miss the entire series.

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The NRL's biggest star went down again on Friday night, coming off the field after feeling a "sharp pain" in his hamstring. He came from the field in the dying minutes of the first half and went straight up the player's race. 

It's the third time he's injured the same hamstring in about a year.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the Panthers would prefer to have Cleary treated by club specialists, but are exploring options abroad and could send him as far as Qatar.

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Melbourne-based David Opar has worked with several NRL players, while Trbojevic, Latrell Mitchell and Ryan Papenhuyzen have all been treated by Philadelphia-based Bill Knowles.

The Herald also reported world-renowned sports medicine clinic Aspetar in Qatar could also be an option. Specialists there have worked with Premier League stars, as well as AFL players.

Jarome Luai said on Saturday his halves partner was left "heartbroken" by his latest setback.

Speaking to NRL.com, Luai promised he and his Panthers teammates would rally around their No.7.

"He is sort of heartbroken in a way," Luai said.

"I spoke to him after and his spirits are pretty down, so we'll do whatever we can do to bring that energy up, give him some confidence that he'll be back there at the end of the year, give him confidence that we'll be there at the end of the year and we'll be ready for his return."

Luai said the timing of the injury so close to Origin wasn't Cleary's biggest frustration.

"He's done it three times in a row now so it will be frustrating for him. It's not really about Origin, it's about his well-being and about his health at the end of the day," Luai said.

"He loves his footy and he wants to play with the boys. He just wants to play footy with the boys in general, so it's about him and his mind now, and his well-being.

"I feel for him, I know what he's feeling, but we've got good energy amongst this team, and we'll get it running for sure."

Origin squads will be picked on May 27, ahead of game one on June 5.