Mulcahy to get nod as selectors won’t gamble on Sherlock

WAYNE SHERLOCK looks set to miss out on Sunday’s Munster SHC final against Tipperary.

The star corner-back has recovered from a long-standing groin injury but remains short of match practice, and Cork are likely to start with Pat Mulcahy and Brian Murphy in the corner-back positions against the Premier County.

Last weekend Cork selector Joe O’Leary outlined the situation regarding Sherlock:

“The unfortunate thing about Wayne is that while he’s hurling very well and training full out - he’s made a 100% recovery from his groin injury - the last championship game he played was the middle of last October. He played a few games with Blackrock but this game has probably come a little soon for him.”

Wing-forward Timmy McCarthy of Castlelyons is another long-time injury worry.

“Timmy was absolutely flying at the start of the year in the league,” said O’Leary, “He was superb. He’d reached a great level of fitness but unfortunately he got injured, and the doctor described the hamstring tear he suffered as one of the worst he’d ever seen. He’s back in full training and he played for Castlelyons but whether he’s picked or not is an issue for tomorrow night.”

Cork are keen to accommodate McCarthy’s hard-running style if he is fit. Neil Ronan of Ballyhea lined out instead of McCarthy in the Munster semi-final against Waterford but was replaced by Kieran Murphy of Erin’s Own for the second half. Jonathan O’Callaghan of Castletownroche, who started last year’s Munster semi-final against Limerick, is another half-forward option for Cork.