Tipp appeal for support and privacy for Leahy

TIPPERARY GAA chiefs last night urged that All-Star John Leahy be given support and privacy after it was confirmed yesterday he had suffered more cruciate ligament torment.

Following exploratory surgery yesterday it was been confirmed the cruciate ligament in Leahy’s knee is damaged as a result of an injury on Wednesday during a practice match in Thurles.

He had just recovered from cruciate ligament damage to the other knee, and had recovered to the extent that he came on as a substitute last Sunday for Tipperary against Galway in the Allianz Hurling League.

Spokesperson Liz Howard said: “The County Board, the senior hurling team management and the players are saddened and disappointed about this news, particularly for John who worked so hard to regain fitness following a similar accident two years ago in the Munster Championship game against Clare in Cork.

“One of the most talented hurlers of his era, John holds a special place in the hearts of Tipperary supporters and I know that he will have their support at this difficult time,” she said.

Meanwhile shadow boxing is the term which readily comes to mind in attempting to anticipate what kind of a contest to expect from the meeting of Clare and Tipp in the last of the preliminary games in the Allianz Hurling League in Cusack Park tomorrow.

Nobody can be quite sure what to expect from a game which is of no real significance to the home county but crucial to Tipperary if they want to ensure their place in the final on May 5.

Other than that, what makes the game intriguing is the fact the teams will be meeting in the Munster championship in three weeks time - for the fifth consecutive year. On the basis of what happened over the last two months, Tipperary manager Michael Doyle is the one who has reason to be more than optimistic about prospects of advancement.

The Clare manager Cyril Lyons voiced his disapproval of the pairings for the second phase of the League this year after they were announced and he has not changed his mind in the interim. “This being the last game, and only three weeks to the championship, it would have been wiser to have re-jigged the fixtures,’’ he comments.

The bald statistic of four defeats out of six games ‘tells its own story," he says of their campaign.

If neutrals find that difficult to comprehend of a team that contested the All-Ireland final last year, Mr Lyons suggests that it’s explained by ‘poor form by the team and poor form by the individuals.

The fifth round defeat by Waterford was particularly costly in terms of being competitive in the second phase.

“After that, we knew we were out of contention of getting to the final. We played a very poor first half, nearly reclaimed it at the end but over 70 minutes we didn’t deserve to win he said.

They have been unlucky with injuries at different stages, and for this game, but Mr Lyons doesn’t offer that as an excuse. Instead, he’s looking on the positive side.

“The one thing this League has enabled us to do is to look at lots of players. I would expect that when its over we’ll know who our best 20 will be for the championship.’’

Michael Doyle faces a dilemma of sorts. “When you’d be getting to this stage, with a chance of getting to the final, you’d like to win,’’ he said.

*The curtain-raiser will be the Suzuki Ladies Football League final between Kerry and Laois at 1.45. Both games will be shown live on TG4.