As he stood in the hot shower, deep below Perth's Optus Stadium, Nathan Cleary began telling those closest to him he would do everything in his power to overcome an ankle injury and miraculously play in Origin III.
Most people including the Blues medical staff had assumed the worst when the halfback was unable to return to the field in the second half against Queensland.
The swelling in his right ankle, along with his inability to complete a few simple tests, suggested a syndesmosis injury.
But Operation Cleary was about to commence – and the Herald can now reveal the amount of effort and people who got on board to make sure his name was read out on Monday night for the Origin decider at ANZ Stadium.
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The remarkable recovery started in the early hours of Monday at the Westin Hotel in Perth.
As roommate Tom Trbojevic slept after some celebrations, Cleary woke up but struggled with the ice machine.
"He couldn't get it to work, so he called me," Blues physio Liz Steet said.
"We had to transport him out of his room so he didn't wake Tom, and he moved on to my couch."
After fronting the media in a moonboot and on crutches, Cleary boarded the plane back to Sydney in business class with a bag of ice.
He rushed to Rouse Hill, a two-hour drive from the airport in traffic, late on Monday to undergo scans.
And when the results cleared him of syndesmosis and confirmed a lateral ligament damage, as well as bruising to his medial ankle ligament, Cleary was at the Panthers Academy before 7am the next day for the start of a marathon physio session.
Penrith's head of performance, Hayden Knowles, who also works for the Blues, was straight on the phone to Brad Fittler to break the news.
"I said to Freddy, 'you're not going to believe this, but the ankle is good'," Knowles said.
"He said, 'I need to know by the end of the day what his treatment plan will be, every little detail, even down to what food he will be eating. All the one per centers count. And Nathan needs to believe in his mind he will do everything possible to get back on the park'.
"Freddy kept saying how powerful the mind is and how important it was Nathan knew he was doing everything possible."
Before Knowles could make it to one of the physio rooms inside the Panthers Academy, Fittler was already on the phone to the young playmaker.
Nathan Cleary on the phone to Brad Fittler, hours after learning his ankle injury was not as bad as first thought.
Dietitian Amanda McCredie met with Cleary and provided him with fish oils and amino acids to aid with the recovery.
Panthers medical coordinator Craig Catterick hopped in his Toyota Prado and got his hands on $2000 worth of pain relief products before he drove it to Cleary's house.
Even Penrith's club doctor, Norm Southern, who worked with Fittler when he was playing at the western Sydney club three decades ago, told the Blues coach: "I'm backing Nathan in."
Cleary himself was about to commence a staggering 30 hours of physio over the next three days in a bid to control the swelling that flared up on the flight.
Penrith physio Krystal Sharp said she had not come across an NRL player more diligent than Cleary.
His injury normally requires a "four to six weeks recovery" but Sharp was convinced he could maRead More – Source
As he stood in the hot shower, deep below Perth's Optus Stadium, Nathan Cleary began telling those closest to him he would do everything in his power to overcome an ankle injury and miraculously play in Origin III.
Most people including the Blues medical staff had assumed the worst when the halfback was unable to return to the field in the second half against Queensland.
The swelling in his right ankle, along with his inability to complete a few simple tests, suggested a syndesmosis injury.
But Operation Cleary was about to commence – and the Herald can now reveal the amount of effort and people who got on board to make sure his name was read out on Monday night for the Origin decider at ANZ Stadium.
Advertisement
The remarkable recovery started in the early hours of Monday at the Westin Hotel in Perth.
As roommate Tom Trbojevic slept after some celebrations, Cleary woke up but struggled with the ice machine.
"He couldn't get it to work, so he called me," Blues physio Liz Steet said.
"We had to transport him out of his room so he didn't wake Tom, and he moved on to my couch."
After fronting the media in a moonboot and on crutches, Cleary boarded the plane back to Sydney in business class with a bag of ice.
He rushed to Rouse Hill, a two-hour drive from the airport in traffic, late on Monday to undergo scans.
And when the results cleared him of syndesmosis and confirmed a lateral ligament damage, as well as bruising to his medial ankle ligament, Cleary was at the Panthers Academy before 7am the next day for the start of a marathon physio session.
Penrith's head of performance, Hayden Knowles, who also works for the Blues, was straight on the phone to Brad Fittler to break the news.
"I said to Freddy, 'you're not going to believe this, but the ankle is good'," Knowles said.
"He said, 'I need to know by the end of the day what his treatment plan will be, every little detail, even down to what food he will be eating. All the one per centers count. And Nathan needs to believe in his mind he will do everything possible to get back on the park'.
"Freddy kept saying how powerful the mind is and how important it was Nathan knew he was doing everything possible."
Before Knowles could make it to one of the physio rooms inside the Panthers Academy, Fittler was already on the phone to the young playmaker.
Nathan Cleary on the phone to Brad Fittler, hours after learning his ankle injury was not as bad as first thought.
Dietitian Amanda McCredie met with Cleary and provided him with fish oils and amino acids to aid with the recovery.
Panthers medical coordinator Craig Catterick hopped in his Toyota Prado and got his hands on $2000 worth of pain relief products before he drove it to Cleary's house.
Even Penrith's club doctor, Norm Southern, who worked with Fittler when he was playing at the western Sydney club three decades ago, told the Blues coach: "I'm backing Nathan in."
Cleary himself was about to commence a staggering 30 hours of physio over the next three days in a bid to control the swelling that flared up on the flight.
Penrith physio Krystal Sharp said she had not come across an NRL player more diligent than Cleary.
His injury normally requires a "four to six weeks recovery" but Sharp was convinced he could maRead More – Source
