Nathan Cleary’s participation in the Kangaroos tour is in doubt.
“They told us he’ll definitely go for scans to see what the extent of the injury is.”
Nathan Cleary is reportedly in danger of missing the Pacific Championships after suffering a knee injury during the 2023 Grand Final.
The injury is said to have occurred during Sunday’s game against the Brisbane Broncos, when he was the victim of a hip-drop tackle by Payne Haas in the ninth minute.
After the game, the Broncos forward was cited for the incident and pleaded guilty to the Grade 1 Dangerous Contact infraction, which means he will now have to pay a $1,800 fine rather than lose any games due to suspension.
“I rang our guys, who then rang Penrith’s medical team, and they told us he’ll definitely go for scans to see what the extent of the injury is,” Mal Meninga told The Sydney Morning Herald.
“At this point, he’s still rejoicing, which is understandable. Because we have ‘Cherry’ [Daly Cherry-Evans], we can keep Nathan in the squad and have him available for the New Zealand game if necessary. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
The top halfback is said to have sustained no severe ligament damage in his left knee, which is fantastic news for Penrith Panthers fans. According to the Herald, the ailment is most likely a meniscus tear or significant bone bruising.
Much of the World Cup squad returns for the tri-series, including Thomas Flegler, Kotoni Staggs, and Selwyn Cobbo, who will be in line for a Kangaroos debut after playing in the grand final on Sunday, and Payne Haas, who missed the World Cup.
Matt Burton, Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Angus Crichton, Jeremiah Nanai, Murray Taulagi, and Jack Wighton are the other players to be included from outside the World Cup roster.
Nathan Cleary is in doubt for the Kangaroos games after suffering a knee injury in the #NRLGF (via @MCarayannis). Happened in the 10th minute – scans to come to determine nature/severity but limited video brings concern for MCL sprain w hip drop tackle causing knee to collapse in pic.twitter.com/siHEixpv47
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) October 3, 2023
Full squad
James Tedesco (c) (Sydney Roosters)
Josh Addo-Carr (Canterbury Bulldogs)
Patrick Carrigan (Brisbane Broncos)
Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly Sea Eagles)
Nathan Cleary (Penrith Panthers)
Selwyn Cobbo (Brisbane Broncos)
Lindsay Collins (Sydney Roosters)
Reuben Cotter (North Queensland Cowboys)
Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Gold Coast Titans)
Thomas Flegler (Brisbane Broncos)
Harry Grant (Melbourne Storm)
Payne Haas (Brisbane Broncos)
Valentine Holmes (North Queensland Cowboys)
Ben Hunt (St George Illawarra Dragons)
Liam Martin (Penrith Panthers)
Cameron Munster (Melbourne Storm)
Cameron Murray (South Sydney Rabbitohs)
Kotoni Staggs (Brisbane Broncos)
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (The Dolphins)
Jake Trbojevic (Manly Sea Eagles)
Isaah Yeo (Penrith Panthers)
Fixtures
Saturday, October 14: Australia vs Samoa at Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville, 8:10pm
Saturday, October 21: New Zealand vs Samoa at Eden Park, Auckland, 4:00pm
Saturday, October 28: Australia vs New Zealand at AAMI Park, Melbourne, 8:10pm
Saturday, November 4: Final at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, 3pm
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