Matt Moylan has been granted leave to sort out personal issues following a meeting with Panthers officials on Monday morning.
Despite rival clubs circling for his signature, the Panthers have resolved lingering tension between the captain and the club but have decided to give him time away from the game to deal with personal issues.
Moylan won't play for the Panthers in this Saturday's do-or-die clash with Manly at Allianz Stadium.
"We held a long discussion with Matt and his manager this morning," Panthers general manager Phil Gould said.Â
"As a result of this meeting we can confirm Matt is 100 per cent committed to his future at the Panthers and we are 100 per cent committed to Matt.Â
"We see Matt as a valuable asset to our club and hope he has a long and successful future as a Panther. In the short term we are giving Matt some time away from the game to deal with some personal issues and we hope that people will respect his privacy.Â
"It's disappointing that this has made its way to the media and from this point on there will be no further comment from the club, Matt or his management. We look forward to seeing Matt re-join the group as soon as possible."
Stand-in captain Peter Wallace insisted the Panthers could overcome the Moylan saga which threatens to derail their finals campaign, beginning against Manly on Saturday.
"There's never a good time but it just so happens to be now," Wallace said earlier on Monday at the NRL finals launch.
"It's not a distraction for us. I know the whole team's excited about playing this week and they're not going to let anything distract us. It's got nothing to do with us.
"Matt and the club will sort that out and then move forward."
with AAP