Dylan Edwards and Blaize Talagi have joined Nathan Cleary in the race to be fit for the Penrith Panthers' trip to Las Vegas at the start of the 2025 NRL season.
Cleary's surgery has been well publicised after he battled through injury during the 2024 season.
Hamstrings were his first cause of concern, but a shoulder problem saw him miss time late in the season and play with significant questions hanging over his fitness during yet another successful finals campaign as the men from the foot of the mountains claimed their fourth straight premiership.
Cleary's surgeon being on annual leave meant the halfback only went in for surgery a fortnight ago, but now it has been revealed by The Sydney Morning Herald that fullback Edwards has gone in for the same operation this week after playing through the Pacific Championships with the Australian Kangaroos.
Edwards, who played fullback in all three of the Kangaroos' games during a winning tournament, kept his shoulder injury quiet but has now had the same Latarjet procedure that Cleary had.
The recovery time is expected to be between 14 and 16 weeks, with the Panthers opening their season in 15 weeks' time, a week ahead of the rest of the competition, to allow the teams in Las Vegas an extra week of recovery for the travel back across the Pacific Ocean.
Adding to the problems for Penrith is the fact Blaize Talagi - their off-season recruit from the Parramatta Eels - also needs shoulder surgery after picking up an injury while playing against Samoa.
Penrith’s preseason program has hit another roadblock with Blaze Talagi to undergo surgery on a shoulder injury picked up against England.
It means both of their expected starting halves will spend most of preseason in rehab.
— The League Scene (@LeagueScenePod) November 14, 2024
It's not likely he will miss the season opener, but as Penrith prepare for a new halves combination following Jarome Luai's departure to the Wests Tigers, having both their first-choice six and seven missing most of the pre-season is hardly an ideal situation.
If the trio do miss Round 1, Penrith will need to look at potentially new options and combinations in all three key spine positions given Luai played a chunk of halfback last year, and Sunia Turuva was the next-choice fullback. He has also joined the Tigers.
Instead, Daine Laurie, Brad Schneider and Jack Cole will be in the running for the halves spots, while Laurie could also line up at fullback.
The only positive for Penrith is that, according to the report, both Edwards and Cleary avoided any further damage requiring more extensive surgery and a longer recovery time.
