Penrith's challenging start to 2025 is set to get even tougher with star winger Brian To'o expected to miss the next month with a hamstring injury.
Panthers coach Ivan Cleary, whose side have got off to an underwhelming 1-3 start to their premiership defence, said on Monday that metre-eating winger To'o could miss the next month of action.
The good news is that halfback Nathan Cleary (concussion) is expected to return for Friday night clash with North Queensland.
The fitness of fullback Dylan Edwards (groin) is up in the air.
"Nathan will be back, Bizz (To'o) won't be, hopefully Dylan will be," the coach said.
The absence of To'o will likely open the door for Casey McLean to start on the wing in co-captain Isaah Yeo's 250th game.
The key issue for the Panthers, who were condemned to three-straight losses for the first time since 2019, is their defence.
Penrith have conceded an average of 29.5 points through the opening four rounds, in what represents a significant statistical outlier compared to recent seasons.
From the start of the 2020 campaign to the end of last season when they claimed a fourth-straight premiership, the Panthers' stubborn defence leaked a measly 13 points per game.
"We need to be better at defending errors, you obviously don't like making them, but when you do you want to be able to defend them," said Yeo.
"We just haven't been able to do that this season, and I think off the back of that teams get confidence and because they're scoring early it's probably hurting our confidence."