NRL superstar Nathan Cleary could finally smile after looking like a broken man on Thursday night.
Cameras spotted Matildas superstar Mary Fowler with the Penrith co-captain on Friday, as Cleary went to get scans.
The 21-year-old Fowler is back in Australia after the Matildas’ disappointing Olympics campaign.
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And the loved-up couple were all smiles when they were at Penrith HQ, with Fowler carrying what appeared to be a tube of Cleary’s “positive” scan results.
On Thursday Cleary’s father admitted he was “concerned” by the shoulder injury that his son suffered in the two-point loss to the Storm.
And Nathan Cleary looked shellshocked in the sheds after the incident.
But the club said on Friday that the scans were reasonably “positive” and it planned “to have Nathan available for the NRL finals”.
Both Fowler and Cleary know all about injuries and recovery.
She has battled back and foot issues during her short career while Cleary’s injury history is long.
Fortunately, this latest drama is on the opposite shoulder to the one he injured in 2021.
Through five years of premiership dominance, the Panthers have become accustomed to losing Cleary for large portions of each regular season.
The long-term right shoulder injury rubbed him out on the run to the 2021 finals series and he faced a five-game ban for a horror spear tackle on Dylan Brown late in 2022
Hamstring injuries have also conspired against Cleary this year but Penrith have still won seven of 11 games without him.
Cleary ultimately needed more than two months on the sidelines to recover from that soft-tissue injury.
Cleary is famously fastidious in his injury recovery.
But despite the fact the club is optimistic about his return, some bookmakers have decided the Panthers are no longer premiership favourites.
The Storm now has that honour, with the Panthers second in line of betting.
– With AAP