‘So, so grateful’: Nathan Cleary confirms reason behind Mary Fowler’s Matildas absence

Injured rugby league player Nathan Cleary has expressed deep appreciation to Matildas forward Mary Fowler, his partner who flew to Australia to spend time with him as he recovers from major surgery.

Fowler withdrew from international duty with the Australian national team, who lost 4-2 to Germany in a friendly on Saturday, and has been spending time with Cleary in Sydney.

He posted on Instagram on Sunday evening with a series of photos of their time together in recent days.

“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!” he 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.”

Fowler responded, saying she was “very lucky” and “it’s easy to look after someone when they’re a big cutie patootie”.

The Manchester City forward had earlier posted herself with Cleary and his dog Prince while supporting Cleary’s teammate Liam Henry, who was fundraising for Parkinson’s on Saturday.

It confirmed the reason for Fowler’s withdrawal from the Matildas’ squad which had been previously described as for “personal circumstances”.

Matildas coach Joe Montemurro addressed her absence prior to the match in Karlsruhe.

“It’s really important that we create an environment that is important for the player, and as the circumstances are private I’m not going to elaborate,” Montemurro said.

“But yes, absolutely, discussions were had with Mary, with the club, and with the relative people, and we believe that we’ve made the right decision and I think everyone’s in support of the situation.”

Without Fowler in their lineup, the Matildas quickly fell two goals down to Germany in Friday’s match, and despite promise could not complete a comeback despite bringing the score back to 3-2 the latter stages.

Midfielder Kyra Cooney-Cross was also left out of the Matildas’ squad for the match as she continues her return to top-flight football after the death of her mother in July.

Fowler will also miss the Matildas’ friendly against Haiti this week in France.

Cleary suffered a broken left leg in Penrith’s NRL preliminary final defeat to Newcastle, and he also underwent surgery on his right foot to correct a stress fracture.

The 28-year-old requires a wheelchair for his mobility, and Fowler was shown on Instagram helping re-tie his medical boot and massaging his thigh.

Manchester City’s next WSL match is in seven days against Brighton.