Nathan Cleary won his first Dally M on Wednesday, beating Braydon Trindall and completing his collection of major rugby league awards.
The 28-year-old missed the ceremony after being discharged from hospital that day following emergency surgery for a compound fracture and ankle dislocation suffered in Sunday's preliminary-final loss to Newcastle.
AAP reported that Cleary's surgeon was satisfied with the operation's outcome so far and hoped he could return for round one.
Cleary is also due to have surgery on the broken right foot he played with against Newcastle, which is expected to recover quickly.
The NRL raised the possibility of taking the award to Cleary on Tuesday, then presented it to him on Wednesday while he was in a wheelchair.
In a recorded speech, Cleary said: "In terms of being able to win the Dally M award, I'm super grateful for that as well."
Penrith's sheds were particularly quiet after the injury at halftime, as teammates came to terms with what had happened.
Centre Casey McLean said he was "Super gutted for him," after seeing Cleary play through an injury before the serious incident.
Fullback Dylan Edwards said Cleary's composure was remarkable: "To his credit he is a tough person. And the way he was handling that was incredible."
Edwards avoided knee surgery after a PCL injury in the loss and remains hopeful of representing Australia at the World Cup.
Wearing a brace at the awards, Edwards said: "I'm not sure, I have to talk to Kevvie (coach Kevin Walters),"