Cats to test depth of talent pool
The Leinster champions have delayed naming a team until tomorrow after a catalogue of injuries that Cody believes is the worst he has experienced in six years as manager.
Noel Hickey is a definite non-starter due to illness while captain Peter Barry, Jackie Tyrell, Martin Comerford and Richie Power are all concerns.
James Ryall was positioned at full-back in training late last week in the absence of Hickey, while Michael Kavanagh, John Tennyson, Brian Hogan and even Tommy Walsh could be parachuted into the back line if required.
Power's shoulder injury has been responding well to treatment though if the U-21 player were to fail a late fitness test, a back-up force of DJ Carey, John Hoyne, Eddie Brennan and Eoin McCormack offer encouraging alternatives.
"It's a very serious situation and it's not something we've had happen to us before," said Cody of the injury worries.
"We've always had a more or less full panel to choose from down the years and we certainly don't have that this week.
"This strength in depth thing is renowned in folklore but we've never had to put it to test like we do now. It was a level enough playing field anyway but the injuries have swung it a bit in Limerick's favour even if I have every confidence in whoever we bring in to play on Sunday."
Having developed an aura of invincibility in the wake of their victory against Offaly, Kilkenny's sheen was dulled significantly by their struggles against Wexford in the Leinster final.
Even before their spate of injuries, it was at the back where any perceived weaknesses were believed to linger, though few expect Limerick to be the team to exploit any such failing.
Cody, as ever, is preaching caution. Limerick's recent championship record may be poor but the records don't tell the full story.
"It's been unfortunate the way this year has gone for them. Against Tipperary they were very unlucky not to win twice and the last day against Galway it was the same.
"They missed five or six frees they would normally expect to get. They've had no breaks this year but they've played some very good hurling. The worry is that you would expect them to get a break sooner or later."
How quickly they adapt to the unfamiliar environs of Croke Park will be significant. Kilkenny have played in the Dublin venue a dozen times since Limerick's last run-out there against Wexford in 2001.
It's surprising then to find that history has favoured the Munster team, they along with Tipperary enjoy a better win/loss ratio against Kilkenny in championship hurling, having won four and lost three of their meetings.
For all that, it's 31 years since the teams last met at a summer's apex. Kilkenny won that semi-final in 1974 but it's the decider the year previously Limerick's last All-Ireland title that everyone remembers.
Cody played that day, but he doesn't profess to recall much about the game itself.
"What do I remember? We didn't win."
If anything, he believes the pair's unfamiliarity with one another will help Limerick as, unlike most other teams, they don't have a litany of previous recent defeats against the black and amber serving as a backdrop to the game itself.
Their last league meeting came three years ago when Kilkenny kicked on for the final with a five-point win, though Limerick "blew us out the gate" when Kilkenny made a pre-championship trip to the Gaelic Grounds last year.
"There's no certainties in any game. It's not so long ago that they won three U-21 All-Irelands in a row. People go on about Kilkenny having this pool of talent but a lot of the Limerick lads from those teams are the right age now. They're 24, 25, 26.
"These are guys who were winning Munster and All-Ireland finals year after year. You just have to look at the names on their team, like Mark Foley, TJ Ryan and Ollie Moran. They're outstanding hurlers."
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