Matt Moylan has been ruled out of Penrith's final-round NRL clash with Manly with an ongoing hamstring complaint.
Moylan was named on an extended bench for the clash, but with the Panthers all but assured of a finals position, coach Anthony Griffin has opted against risking him ahead of the finals.
It comes as Panthers chief executive Brian Fletcher told News Corp there was a 50-50 chance the club's captain would not be there next season.
- AAP
Earlier On Triple M
Triple M's James Hooper believes Penrith will meet on Monday to figure out what exactly is happening with Matt Moylan's future.
Moylan's future at the Panthers is under a cloud, with boss Brian Fletcher telling the Saturday Telegraph he is "50/50" on whether he'll stay.
Hoops said that quote surprised him.
"I must say, I was really surprised when I saw that quote in the paper from the Panthers CEO Brian Fletcher," he said.
"Given that Matty Moylan at the start of the year was made captain, he's a local junior, he's signed currently to a four-year deal.
"We broke this story last night on Fox Sports, and the reality is that Matty Moylan, at the moment, it's really inopportune timing, because Penrith have got the biggest game of their season today against Manly, but he has a little bit of itchy feet and he's telling people he's frustrated about what's unfolded at the Panthers this year."
Hoops believes the Panthers met about the Moylan situation earlier in the week, and believes there'll be another one on Monday.
"My understanding is the Panthers had a meeting just to clear the air and make sure that everybody was on the same page earlier this week, I believe that involved Matt and obviously the Penrith coach Anthony Griffin, and also Phil Gould, the general manager," he told Triple M.
"Matt's obviously had a really frustrating season in terms of injuries, he's been in and out of the side, but I think some people at Penrith might be frustrated about the fact that perhaps he hasn't rehabbing his injuries as well as possible, he might have been having a couple of beers here and there.
"Phil Gould told Channel 9 last night that they are going to have a meeting on Monday to figure out what the hell's going on.
"Rival clubs have got hold of this information and began circulating the story, and rival clubs are now all poised and waiting because if Matt Moylan becomes a free agent, they're going to be queued up left, right and centre."