Nathan Cleary suffers sickening head knock after freak accident
Penrith Panthers superstar Nathan Cleary is forced from the field having suffered a concussion in 2025
Penrith Panthers have lost half-back Nathan Cleary for next week after the Kangaroos superstar was involved in a freak accident that forced him the field on Thursday night.
The Panthers were taking on Melbourne Storm and fell behind 12-0 early on before rallying back to trail by just four points at the break.
But they had to play the remainder of the game without their most influential player after he and Melbourne’s Jahrome Hughes were involved in a nasty collision.
With Melbourne chasing a ball deep in Penrith territory, Cleary and Hughes collided with Cleary landing nastily on the floor. He appeared to land on either his shoulder or his head and required instant attention.
He was assessed by Panthers medical staff before being taken from the field. He was deemed to have a Category 1 concussion – which means automatically being ruled out of the remainder of the contest.
Nathan Cleary will not return tonight after suffering a concussion in this collision – came down heavily on his shoulder/head.
Deemed to have shown Category 1 (obvious) signs of concussion – means he will also be subject to NRL’s mandatory 11 day stand down & miss Round 4. pic.twitter.com/mSJL9gjdOk
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) March 20, 2025
Cleary will also miss Penrith’s next fixture, against South Sydney Rabbitohs next weekend, as a result too.
Melbourne also lost Nick Meaney during a brutal first half following another sickening head collision. He was deemed to have suffered a fractured jaw at half-time.
But the loss of Cleary for Penrith was undoubtedly the game’s biggest talking point as the reigning NRL champions face up to preparing for next week without their star man.
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