Panthers star Nathan Cleary is confident the decision to delay his return from shoulder surgery until Round 4 when they take on Souths will mean he is more than ready to go when he does get back on the field.

Cleary had been hoping to be fit for the start of the season but Penrith opted to take a cautious approach rather than risking further damage.

“It’s going really well,” Cleary said on SEN Radio. “I just wanted a couple of extra weeks to try and get some more confidence in it mainly with the tackling and getting some more conditioning into it.

“Still just progressing through in stages, it’s looking pretty good for Round 4 at the moment. We’ll just see how we go in the next few weeks.”

The weary body of Jarrod Croker has copped another blow with coach Ricky Stuart revealing the Canberra co-captain has a bulging disc in his spine.

Croker, who underwent stem cell injections in his knee during the off-season in a bid to rejuvenate his 31-year-old body, was a late withdrawal from a NSW Cup match last weekend and won’t play this week as he tries to overcome the back issue.

Having managed just 12 games in 2021 due to shoulder and knee issues, there was speculation Croker might medically retire.

“It’s only hit him in this off-season and it’s something now that we’ve got to overcome,” Stuart said. “I feel the frustration of Toots. “He was very eager to get out there and play last week and I feel the disappointment but we’ve just got to get him right.”

Croker, hooker Josh Hodgson (knee) and halves Brad Schneider (COVID) and Jamal Fogarty (knee) are sidelined for Saturday’s Townsville tussle with the Cowboys.

The Warriors are have lost three key players after their Round 1 loss to the Dragons with Shaun Johnson set to miss a month and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak and Viliami Vailea ruled out for the foreseeable future.

Johnson has torn a pec and will not feature until Round 5 at the earliest. Early reports are that it is only a minor strain but the newly-returned Kiwi international will still be out for a month.

DWZ has broken his left thumb and will miss as much as two months, while Vailea has injured his MCL and is set for at least a month on the sidelines.

Storm prop Christian Welch is hoping to be back this year but the season is over for George Jennings after a horror injury toll in their win over the Wests Tigers. Kiwi forward Brandon Smith is also facing 3-6 weeks out with a broken hand. Jennings has a torn ACL while Welch, who ruptured his Achilles in the dying stages of the match, took to social media to put his injury into perspective.

NRL injuries and suspensions, team by team

Broncos

Tesi Niu (hamstring, Round 2)
Thomas Flegler (suspended, Round 4)
Xavier Willison (knee, mid-season)

Bulldogs

Tevita Pangai jnr (hamstring, Round 2)
Chris Patolo (concussion, Round 2)
Jeremy Marshall-King (concussion, Round 2)
Brent Naden (concussion, Round 2)
Braidon Burns (concussion, Round 2)
Raymond Faitala-Mariner (foot, Round 2-3)
Matt Doorey (knee, mid-season)

Cowboys

Jamayne Taunoa-Brown (knee, Round 3-4)
Ben Hampton (hamstring, Round 3-4)
Lachlan Burr (hip – early retirement)

Dragons

Billy Burns (foot, Round 3-4)
Jayden Sullivan (hamstring (Round 3-4)
Aaron Woods (hamstring, Round 4-5)
Max Feagai (ankle, indefinite)
Josh McGuire (suspended, Round 6)

Eels

Ryan Matterson (hamstring, Round 4-5)
Sean Russell (ribs, lung indefinite)
Maika Sivo (knee, June-July)
Haze Dunster (knee, season)

Knights

Daniel Saifiti (leg, Round 2-3)
Sauaso Sue (suspended, Round 3)
Jayden Brailey (Achilles, June-July)
Bailey Hodgson (elbow, indefinite)
Hymel Hunt (knee, indefinite)

Panthers

Nathan Cleary (shoulder, Round 4)
Mavrik Geyer (elbow, TBC)
Moses Leota (shoulder, Round 9-11)

Rabbitohs

Liam Knight (ankle, Round 5)
Blake Taaffe (ankle, Round 5)

Raiders

Brad Schneider (COVID, Round 3)
Jarrod Croker (back, TBC)
Peter Hola (knee, Round 2-4)
Jordan Rapana (suspended, Round 3)
Josh Hodgson (knee, Round 4-5)
Jamal Fogarty (knee, Round 15)
Harley Smith-Shields (ACL, season)

Roosters

Victor Radley (concussion, Round 2)
Sam Verrills (thumb, Round 5-6)
Joseph Suaalii (foot, Round 3-4)

Joseph Suaalii. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

Sea Eagles

Karl Lawton (concussion, Round 2-3)
Dylan Walker (leg, Round 2)
Josh Schuster (ankle, Round 3-5)
Ben Trbojevic (knee, Round 3-5)
Josh Aloiai (suspended, Round 4)

Sharks

Connor Tracey (groin, Round 2-3)
Cameron McInnes (knee, Round 2-3)
Jack Williams (knee, Round 3)
Braydon Trindall (suspended, Round 3)
Wade Graham (ankle, Round 4-6)

Storm

Cooper Johns (shoulder, Round 3-5)
Brandon Smith (hand, Round 4-7)
Christian Welch (Achilles, season)
George Jennings (knee, season)
Tui Kamikamica (stood down)

(Photo by Speed Media/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Tigers

Jacob Liddle (knee, Round 4-6)
Adam Doueihi (knee, Round 8-14)
Tommy Talau (knee, mid-season)
Asu Kepaoa (pectoral, mid-season)
Shawn Blore (ACL, season)

Titans

Joe Vuna (knee, mid-season)

Warriors

Viliami Vailea (knee, Round 5)
Shaun Johnson (pec, Round 5)
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (thumb, Round 9-11)
Tohu Harris (knee, June-July)