Cork prepare for Clare
Curran was one of a number of players who sustained injuries during a challenge game against Offaly at the weekend which O’Grady described as farcical in the extreme.
“Apart from the game which was a meaningless exercise after about 10 minutes, we picked up a couple of injuries which we could do without,” O’Grady said.
“Timmy McCarthy went over on his ankle and Alan Browne was struck with the sliothar, but both are expected to be back in training in a few days; our biggest worry is Ronan Curran who went off with a calf muscle injury.
“We are awaiting the physiotherapist’s report on him but right now it’s not looking too good. Those kind of injuries are slow to heal. It would be fair to say if the game was on next Sunday, he wouldn’t make it.
“Injuries in the run up to a championship match interfere with a player’s hurling preparations and that has to be of concern to us also.”
Cork’s facile 19-point win came the night after Offaly had played Waterford in a challenge game.
They had also trained very hard on the morning of the game against the Leesiders with their players looking extremely tired as they lost 2-24 to 0-9 in Cork’s final challenge game before their Guinness Munster SHC semi-final against the Banner.
O’Grady added: “We will continue with our preparations as best we can given the constraints under which we are operating.”
Those constraints are the demands of a busy county championship schedule with four players - Joe Deane, Jason Barrett, Niall McCarthy and Tom Kenny - in club action last weekend.
Clare will be without two players from the team which defeated Tipperary in the first round 10 days ago.
Captain Seanie McMahon received a one-month suspension from the GAC on Saturday after being sent off for dangerous play following a tussle with Conor Gleeson.
Defender David Hoey is out for the rest of the season with a broken ankle bone following an accidental collision with team-mate Brian Lohan.
The Clare full back sustained a nasty knee injury in that clash and struggled for his club Wolfe Tones in their county SHC win over Newmarket at the weekend, but is expected to be fit to face Cork.
Meanwhile, a victory for Cork’s senior footballers against Clare in a highly competitive challenge game at the weekend will have restored some pride to Larry Tompkins’ charges.
Training has resumed ahead of their June 15 All-Ireland qualifier but will be disrupted by seven county SFC games this weekend.
Tompkins is already without Noel O’Donovan who picked up a knee injury which threatens the rest of his season.
The Bishopstown defender recently had an inconclusive X-ray and is now awaiting the results of an MRI scan.
The Cork coach confirmed he and his selectors will be sticking with the same players despite the shock opening-round loss to Limerick.
“I am still convinced they are the best we have,” Tompkins said. “We’ve had some very good results since the season began and they don’t become bad players because of one bad result.”
Limerick hurling selectors, meanwhile, must decide whether to include teenagers Andrew O’Shaughnessy and Pat Kirby in their starting line-up for Sunday’s championship showdown against holders Waterford at Thurles.
Limerick manager Dave Keane said: “Andrew and Pat are due to sit their Leaving Cert three days after the semi-final. That’s a big occasion for them, as would be Sunday’s game. Both have been in training so we will wait and see.”
The team is selected tomorrow.
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