The Panthers have confirmed star halfback Nathan Cleary has been taken to hospital to have his injured finger checked, but remain adamant there is “no doubt” ahead for the preliminary final against the Storm on Friday.
Cleary was injured in training on Monday and the NRL club have decided to send him for a preventative check-up to keep him from being seriously harmed.
The premiership-winning fullback will have to sit out Wednesday’s main training session, but the Panthers are confident he will be fit to face the Storm.
It was a minor setback for the defending champions, who were tested after winning their bye week following their final qualifying round win over the Warriors.
Izack Tago (pec) remains a doubt for the match at Stade Accor, while fifth Jarome Luai is on his way back from a shoulder dislocation less than a month ago.
He trained well on Sunday morning, although Jack Cogger is ready to play if necessary.
When it first happened I thought the worst because it was a pretty bad injury,” team-mate Liam Martin said.
‘But when it happened, he had a chance to come back because it wasn’t as bad as they initially thought, I knew that he would do everything in his power to compete.
‘That’s exactly what he got.
He did 24 hours of physical therapy and worked very hard to get his shoulder back into good condition.