Penrith Panthers winger Thomas Jenkins has given an injury update on Nathan Cleary ahead of the club's preliminary final showdown on Sunday.
The Panthers confirmed their superstar playmaker reeled out of their Week 1 clash with the Roosters with a "stress-related bone issue" in his foot, forming an injury cloud to follow him for the past week.
Cleary looked in discomfort during the final leg of the match after slotting a field goal to give his side the week off and progress straight through to the preliminary stages.
Plenty of conjecture has followed on Cleary's injury status for the remainder of the season, with Jenkins providing the latest on the two-time Clive Churchill recipient.
"Yeah, at this rate, he's (Cleary) obviously playing," Jenkins said on Channel 7's Agenda Setters: Rugby League.
"So, it's all looking good. Full faith in him. He's obviously the ultimate professional and no doubt he'll be getting his body right to be able to play on Sunday."
Jenkins, who is tied in first place for top try-scoring honours for 2026, also remains unsure whether Cleary will get any training reps in before he takes the field this weekend.
The four-time premiership-winning star has been kept on ice to limit the workload on his foot while the semi-finals played out.
"I assume so. We obviously will go in tomorrow and see how that plays out," Jenkins responded when quizzed whether Cleary will train with teammates before prelim kick-off.
"I'm not too sure how much or how little training he's going to be doing, but he's just one of those people. He could do it in his sleep. So, no doubt he'll be getting a few mental reps in there, but hopefully a few reps on the field would be nice."
The Panthers face a flying Newcastle outfit who continues to defy odds and progress through the finals campaign.
The Knights went to Auckland and thwarted the Warriors in front of a historic Eden Park crowd, led by skipper Kalyn Ponga, who is in career-best touch in the Hunter.
The Panthers will host the Knights at Accor Stadium on Sunday afternoon to book a place in the big dance on the first weekend of October.
