Penrith Panthers' star half Nathan Cleary will miss at least the first three weeks of the NRL season as the club refuse to rush the Origin half back from shoulder surgery.
A club statement confirmed the news on Tuesday morning, just hours before team lists are officially announced for Round 1.
It means Cleary will miss not only Penrith's opening match with the Manly Sea Eagles on Thursday evening, but also matches against the St George Illawarra Dragons in Round 2, and the Newcastle Knights in Round 3.
His current earliest return date will be during Round 4 against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in what will be the first meeting of last year's grand finalists.
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Nathan Cleary has off-season shoulder surgery on an injury he was forced to nurse through the finals series, having originally sustained the knock in State of Origin Game 2. It forced him to miss a number of games during the second half of the season as he attempted to strengthen the injury and avoid surgery.
Coach Ivan Cleary said in a club statement that it was critical Nathan wasn't rushed back.
"With a long and challenging season ahead of us, it's critical that we give Nathan the time he needs to return at his physical best," coach Ivan Cleary said.
"While it's obviously a difficult decision and of course we would have loved to have him out there, we believe this will ensure Nathan has the best opportunity to play throughout the year at the level he demands of himself."
The star being out means Sean O'Sullivan will likely start the season in the halves alongside Jarome Luai, having impressed during the trials, with Kurt Falls also in the squad and tipped to be not all that far away from a potential NRL debut.
