Nathan Cleary's hopes of playing in this year's State of Origin series are over after scans revealed a grade-two tear to his left hamstring. The NSW halfback limped out of Penrith's 26-18 win over St George Illawarra on Sunday, with the injury set to sideline him for up to six weeks.
The diagnosis rules Cleary out of Game Two in Brisbane on 21 June and leaves him unlikely to feature in Game Three in Sydney on 12 July. Blues head coach Brad Fittler now faces a selection headache as he looks to save the series.
There was some positive news for Fittler, with South Sydney lock Cameron Murray cleared of a serious groin injury. Murray suffered a low-grade strain and will be monitored ahead of their game against the Dragons.
Possible replacements for Cleary include Cronulla's Nicho Hynes, Parramatta's Mitchell Moses, and Brisbane's Adam Reynolds. All three have experience in the Blues set-up, with Hynes debuting off the bench in the series-opening defeat.
Penrith and NSW teammate Brian To'o backed Hynes to step up, saying: 'Nicho is definitely someone who takes a lot of pride in playing footy and he can live up to the jersey and do his job for the team.'
