Nathan Cleary is the best player in the game. He’s also one of the toughest

Melbourne: Blues halfback Nathan Cleary will receive a painkilling injection for tonight’s second Origin match in Melbourne for a hip pointer injury that left him struggling to sit and lie down for three days after game one.

What made Cleary’s finish to the Blues’ first win even more remarkable was the fact he did so battling a secret and painful injury he suffered as a result of friendly fire from NSW prop Addin Fonua-Blake less than 15 minutes into the game.

Fonua-Blake slammed into Cleary’s left hip as the pair tried to tackle Harry Grant, only for Queensland to keep the ball alive and score via Tom Flegler.

Cleary refused to show any emotion or complain at the time, nor did he inform NSW medical staff. The first time Blues’ medicos became aware Cleary was in trouble was when he asked to be needled at the break and fitted with a protective pad.

The halfback came up with a vital 40/20 in the second half, and it was his pinpoint kick for James Tedesco that sealed the 22-20 comeback win over Queensland.

Cleary had an ice pack strapped around his hip after the game as he enjoyed a couple of cold cans of beer with his father, Penrith coach Ivan Cleary. At no stage did he mention the injury.

The extent of the damage was revealed when he underwent an MRI scan the next day.

“He suffered a direct blow to iliac crest on the pelvic bone, and the abdominal muscles attached to that, there was also a tear to his abdominal core, which the scans confirmed,” Blues’ doctor Nathan Gibbs said.

Cleary worked with the Penrith physios, but in the days that followed the win over Queensland, the playmaker was struggling to do anything.

He was never named for the Sunday clash against the New Zealand Warriors and would not have played if available.

Penrith’s chief physio Pete Green confirmed Cleary’s bruise was “the size of a soccer ball, and every colour under the sun”.

So serious was his injury that Cleary was even in some doubt to play against the Wests Tigers the following week. He did not complete contact work until Friday before the game, received another painkiller, then produced a masterclass in the Panthers’ 68-0 drubbing.

Stretching, band work and rest were the main things Cleary was asked to do.

Cleary confirmed he was likely to be needled again before kick-off at the MCG, and for a brief moment in the middle of Accor Stadium a few weeks ago, wondered if Fonua-Blake’s head was made of granite.

“I thought it was given the way I felt afterwards,” Cleary told this masthead.

“I didn’t even know it was Addin’s head at the time [that caused the damage]. All