Injured NRL champion Nathan Cleary thanks Mary Fowler after Matildas star’s whirlwind trip to Sydney: ‘Very lucky man’

Injured NRL champion Nathan Cleary has thanked his partner Mary Fowler after the football star skipped Matildas matches to fly halfway across the world in his hour of need.

Fowler pulled out of Australia’s European friendlies against Germany and Haiti this week due to what Football Australia said were ‘personal circumstances’.

It soon emerged the 23-year-old had put Cleary first and flown to Sydney to be with the halfback in the wake of two leg operations.

Cleary required emergency surgery after suffering a career-threatening badly broken leg in the Panthers’ NRL preliminary final loss in late September.

He then returned to hospital days later to fix his broken foot on the other leg.

Matildas coach Joe Montemurro publicly backed Fowler’s decision as the right one, saying it was important for him to “create an environment that is important” and supportive for players.

Now Cleary has paid tribute with a post that garnered a whopping 125,000 likes in less than 10 hours.

“I simply do not have enough space in this caption for the amount of nice adjectives I would use to describe Mary Fowler but this woman is the absolute best!!!” the 28-year-old wrote.

“I can’t thank you enough for flying to the other side of the world to look after me and be by my side during this past week of recovery. I’m a very lucky man and so, so grateful.”

The highest-profile couple in Australian sport, Fowler and Cleary have been in a long-distance relationship for the past three years after first meeting at a sponsor’s event.

Cleary and Fowler had also shared pictures together over the weekend supporting his now former Penrith teammate Liam Henry in a fundraising drive.

Meanwhile, the Matildas lost 4-2 to world No.3 Germany on Friday night (Saturday AEDT) and will face Haiti in France on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEDT).

The friendlies are crucial preparation before the 2027 World Cup in Brazil across June and July.

Speaking ahead of the Germany clash, Montemurro said Fowler’s absence came after discussions between the player, her club Manchester City and Football Australia staff.

“We believe that we’ve made the right decision and I think everyone’s in support of the situation,” the coach said.

Teammate Mackenzie Arnold suggested Matildas players had not been told why Fowler was absent but they were clearly aware of the situation.

“I messaged both her and Nathan when it happened just to say ‘I hope you guys are doing OK’,” Arnold said.

“But yeah, I’m not really sure the actual reason that she’s headed home.”

Players opting out of windows for personal reasons is not rare, especially given the intense schedules of club and international football.

“At the end of the day, we’re all human. You can’t always base your life around football,” Arnold said.

“I have never personally been in that experience, so I don’t really know how to put it into words.

“But I would say if I had that situation that I felt the need to go home and I asked the coach for that and I had full trust in him that he was going to give me that permission — then of course, it’s important.

“But I think the the bottom line is, at the end of the day we’re all human, so if we need to make that decision, then that’s what we need to go with.”

Fowler is expected to be back in action for Manchester City next Sunday night (Monday AEDT) in a Women’s Super League clash with Brighton.

The forward has been an important figure in a busy start to the season for City, scoring two league goals early and playing a role in UEFA Champions League draws against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

She came off the bench for a 28-minute cameo in a 4-2 win over title rivals Arsenal in their last match before the international break.

Fowler would appear likely to return for the Matildas in a friendly double-header against Colombia in Canberra (November 28) and Geelong (December 2).

— with AAP