Rugby player's horror injuries emerge as stadium left silenced by awful incident

11:22, 28 Sep 2026Updated 11:31, 28 Sep 2026

Rugby league star Nathan Cleary has issued an update from his hospital bed after the gruesome extent of his horror injury was revealed.

The 28-year-old suffered a compound fracture of his leg while in action for Penrith Panthers in the NRL preliminary final clash with Newcastle Knights at the Accor Stadium in Sydney on Sunday. The horrifying incident occurred after Cleary had been brought down by a hip-drop tackle from Newcastle's Phoenix Crossland, who was sent off with the entire stadium in shock.

Cleary's mother Rebecca was left in tears, with the rest of his family also seen comforting each other. Thousands of fans then watched on in silence as Cleary was taken off on a stretcher, with his foot seen to be pointing in the wrong direction as he lay in agony.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, one Panthers source compared the resulting damage to a bullet wound, with others declaring it the worst leg-break they had ever seen.

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Penrith’s medical team are believed to have helped paramedics keep Cleary's leg straight to reduce the risk of cutting off blood supply to his left foot.

There were fears Cleary would face potentially major complications if he didn't undergo emergency surgery on Sunday, and having promptly gone under the knife, he has posted an update from his hospital bed.

“Surgery done... Thank you so much to everyone that has reached out, the support has been unbelievable,” he wrote.

“Yesterday sucked but it’s all part of the journey & it’s made me even more grateful for the people I have around me. I’ll be back."

Cleary is expected to be out for six months providing there are no further complications, but the grizzly nature of the injury means there could be setbacks along the way.

Respected physiotherapist and NRL observer Brien Seeney, known as NRL Physio, explained on X: “Effectively, it means the bone has broken so significantly in his leg that it has broken the skin.

“There’s going to be at least two stages to a surgical procedure like this. Number one, the big priority is to wash out and clean up that wound, remove any damaged tissue and get some IV antibiotics going to reduce the risk of infection. And then obviously stabilise the bone: pins, plates, even a rod that goes all the way down the shin bone can be required.

“For a significant injury like this there can be multiple trips to a surgical theatre, especially when it comes to dealing with that open wound and the infection.”

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