Penrith's injury curse appears to be lifting after coach Anthony Griffin declared gun halfback Nathan Cleary will be one of three players who could return to the NRL side next week.
Despite being without seven of their top 30 players on Friday, the Panthers consolidated their spot in the top four with a determined 29-18 win over Newcastle.
And the troops are slowly returning for Griffin, with Cleary joining utility Tyrone May and rookie forward Jack Hetherington as being available for Thursday's mouth-watering clash against the Wests Tigers.
Griffin confirmed Cleary was given the all-clear by medical staff on Friday morning.
"He officially finished off his rehab today. He had a tough session this morning back up at Penrith and he'll join the team from tomorrow and get ready for next week," Griffin said.
May makes his comeback from a knee reconstruction in reserve grade on Sunday, while Hetherington will also be vying for a spot following a week's suspension.
"It'd be a nice change next week having three to four back rather than what we've been going through over the last five or six weeks," Griffin said.
Griffin admitted there was a silver lining in their injury crisis, with all their youngsters gaining some experience ahead of what will be a crucial State of Origin period for the NRL club.
The Panthers are expected to lose in-form star James Maloney and Reagan Campbell-Gillard, while Cleary has two weeks to impress before teams are selected for game one.
Young playmaker Jarome Luai became the Panthers' fifth debutant of 2018 when he came on at five-eighth for the final 25 minutes against the Knights.
Prop Kaide Ellis was also strong in his 30 minutes of game time.
"The more game time they get, obviously it makes them a better player at this level," Griffin said.
"I thought they did a really good job at vital times and so it's really pleasing to be able to see them get out there and play and start their NRL careers."
