It is a return ahead of time that will no doubt warm the hearts of long-suffering NSW fans – and Nathan Cleary has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure his comeback will be against father Ivan's Wests Tigers.
Having been almost resigned to the fact Cleary would struggle to make it back on the field before Brad Fittler pencils in his NSW team on May 28, the Panthers are now preparing to take the cotton wool off the 20-year-old for an 80-minute family feud on Thursday night.
Family feud: Ivan and Nathan Cleary at home on Monday.
Photo: NRL Photos
Cleary had his first field session with Penrith on Monday night – minus James Maloney who was bedside with his wife as they prepared for the birth of their fourth child – and has turned to different remedies to be fit for the Tigers match.
Panthers teammates have told how Cleary has discovered recovery gels to aide his rehabilitation while the Blues hopeful revealed on Monday he had feasted on a diet of oysters to heal his knee complaint.
Cleary relaxed at the family home, where he still lives, with Ivan on Monday before tuning up with his Penrith teammates ahead of the Thursday night game at Panthers Stadium.
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"He looks tremendous," Panthers prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard said. "He doesnt look like he has had six to eight weeks off. If that was me I would definitely be a couple of kilos heavier and not looking the best.
"He has kept himself in good shape and he is itching to get on that field right now.
"He has done everything right to get his body ready and get his knee right. He has come back two weeks prior to what they said. It shows he has put in the effort to get his knee right."
Cleary told NRL.com: "Someone sent me an article of good foods to eat while you have a ligament injury and oysters happened to be on there. Mum's pretty good to me but Dad has refused to give them to me. He wanted to push my recovery back a week."
The Cleary-Maloney tandem was only in its infancy when the former was struck down against the Bulldogs in round three, requiring Maloney to nurse a decimated Panthers into second spot on the ladder.
The pair are unlikely to combine on the training field again until Wednesday's captain's run.
And if Cleary can make it through his comeback match unscathed, focus will turn to whether Fittler has seen enough to potentially pair the Penrith playmakers together in sky blue.
"If he just does his role for us and steers us around the park and ticks all the boxes I think Freddy will pick him," Panthers forward Trent Merrin said. "He's a world-class player and he treats [his injuries] as a professional.
"Obviously if he gets through these two games for the next couple of weeks then everything will be sweet. He's done everything and more the physio has put in front of him.
If he just does his role for us and steers us around the park and ticks all the boxes I think Freddy will pick him
Trent Merrin
"He's first in, last out [at training]. Everything he's doing – he's in the cryo machine all the time, he's eating his gels that he has to eat – he's doing everything he has to do to put himself in the position [to play this week]."
Cleary's comeback is likely to shift Tyrone Peachey back to the centres as the Panthers look to draw level with the Dragons – albeit momentarily – at the top of the NRL ladder despite a crippling injury toll.
While Cleary's return could have ramifications for NSW, Merrin's outstanding early season form has largely escaped attention as he pushes for a return to the Origin arena.
He suited up only five days after undergoing surgery to fix a badly dislocated finger which saw a bone pop through his skin – and is winning the support of a man considered almost a lock to make his Blues debut.
"He probably is the forgotten man in that arena," Campbell-Gillard said of Merrin. "It is probably up to the selectors and Freddy with what they want to do.
"I thought that was one of his quality games he played on the weekend [against Newcastle]. That is the type of player Mez is. I think he ran for nearly over 100 metres in the first half and I feed off things like that."
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Adam Pengilly is a Sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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