Penrith halfback Luke Walsh is almost certain to miss Saturday’s NRL clash with Melbourne, but coach Ivan Cleary says the knee injury he sustained against Newcastle is not as bad as first feared.

Walsh was expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks after limping off midway through the Panthers’ 34-14 defeat on Monday at Hunter Stadium.

Cleary has named Walsh in his starting line-up for the visit of the Storm, but said on Wednesday he is almost certain not to play.

“It’s highly unlikely he’ll be fit, especially with the short turnaround from the Monday,” Cleary said.

“It’s not as bad as first thought which is good news. It’s hard to put an exact timeframe on it, but it shouldn’t be too long.”

Cleary will also assess the fitness of hooker Kevin Kingston who is recovering from a hyper-extended elbow injury, and could be recalled to allow Travis Burns to move from rake to halfback to cover for Walsh.

Kingston has not been named in the side and Cleary said he will not rush the former Parramatta and Cronulla man back too soon if he’s not fully fit.

He admitted he could look at the likes of young Harry Siejka or serial bad boy Arana Taumata to play in the halves.

“Kevin is pretty close, but he needs a few tests, but it’s something I don’t want to risk,” he said.

“We’ll look around to see who is available and every single player will be considered.”