Penrith Panthers' NRL Grand Final hero Nathan Cleary has been ruled out of the upcoming Pacific Championships due to injury.
Cleary was named in the Australia squad for the tri-series, which also features New Zealand and Samoa, to be hosted on both sides of the Tasman starting October 21.
The halfback has succumbed to a knee injury he sustained during their comeback win over Brisbane Broncos and has now been officially withdrawn from the 21-strong squad. Cronulla Sharks' Nicho Hynes steps in as his replacement.
Cleary's absence means Daly Cherry-Evans will reclaims the No. 7 jersey he missed out on at last year's World Cup.
The injury occurred during a tackle from Broncos forward Payne Haas. He remained on the field to engineer the biggest comeback in Grand Final history, scoring the decisive try in the 26-22 win. Cleary won the Clive Churchill Medal as the game's best player.
The injury isn’t considered serious and will afford the playmaker a longer off-season after three long seasons, each of which have ended with an NRL title.
On Wednesday, coach Michael Maguire named seven new players in a depleted NZ Kiwis squad.
Australia face Samoa in the tournament opener on October 14 in Townsville, before a clash with New Zealand on October 28 in Melbourne and the final in Hamilton on November 4.
