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Penrith will hold Nathan Cleary until after Country of origin IIIwith the three-time defending premiers eyeing a return in round 20 against Dolphins.
Cleary is now six-and-a-half weeks out from suffering his second hamstring tear of the season, which was initially expected to keep him out for eight weeks.
Superstar #7 has returned to running but is still away from training with the core group and is yet to get up to full speed in his rehabilitation.
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Penrith has North Queensland on Sunday before facing Brisbane in Round 18, but has a well-timed Round 19 bye before the Dolphins clash.
And trainer Ivan Cleary has confirmed his son will not return before the bye, with the most likely return date at the BlueBet Stadium on July 21.
The return date also means first-choice NSW No.7 has no chance of featuring in Origin III at Suncorp on July 17, ruling him out of the entire series.
“We’re hoping (he’ll be back) after our next bye,” Cleary said.
“It was a pretty loose target, it’s not confirmed.
“He’s steadily going through his rehab, he’s going well … he’s running but he’s a long way from top speed and he’s doing everything with the team.”
Penrith have been dealing with the 26-year-old’s hamstring problems after he also missed six games last year with a right tear.
The two-time Clive Churchill medalist then felt trouble in his left hamstring in the third round of this season, ruling him out for four weeks.
Then right after that, he was given another game off via a short reversal before going down again with another left hamstring injury in early May.
“The last thing we want is another injury,” the Panthers coach said.
“We’ve probably done more, this time looking at the things we can find.
“I’m really comfortable with the approach we’ve taken and I’m very confident he’ll be fine.”
It comes as Penrith take a measured approach to the final two-and-a-half months of the regular season, sitting in the middle of a three-team tie at the top of the ladder.
They will wait to see how their five NSW players line up for Origin II, with each of the quintet not guaranteed to face North Queensland on Sunday.
Penrith have traditionally leaned more towards resting players late in recent years as they strike a balance between pushing for the front two and keeping men fresh.
“You definitely want to get in the top two if you can, or the top four. But you also want to have your best players fit and firing at the end of the year,” Cleary said.
“There are so many factors in what we do. I guess we have plan A, B, C, D and so on. And then you just try and do your best.
“Obviously it helps if you’ve got a few wins in the bank, any coach will tell you it’s easier to make decisions then.”
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