Hayes out of action for Cork
The Carbery Rangers man tore his hamstring badly while training with the squad in the Spanish resort of La Manga last week.
Revealed selector John Corcoran: “The injury to John is most unfortunate. All the other players came through the training week unscathed and we are looking forward to the trip to Limerick. It should be an interesting match.”
He continued: “The trip to Spain was excellent and well worth it. We took 30 players which allowed us to play a couple of full-scale games and they attracted quite a bit of interest among the locals. There were a lot of holiday makers around particular from Northern Ireland and they were glad to see a Gaelic football match after being smothered with soccer all the week.”
Meanwhile Limerick must wait on their captain Muiris Gavin before naming their team. The Monaleen man didn’t play in the opening round win over Clare due to a calf injury, but has made steady progress since then. Club mate Owen Keating, who has also been restricted because of an ongoing shoulder injury, is likely to be named in the starting lineup.
Both counties will name their teams after training tonight.
Eamon Fitzmaurice could be the odd man out in a revamped Kerry attack for their provincial semi-final against Tipperary in Killarney. Eoin Brosnan is likely to start at centre half forward, the position Fitzmaurice has been occupying this season. There may also be a starting place for Darren O’Sullivan, with his Under 21 colleague, Bryan Sheehan, to be selected at full forward. The Kerry selectors are unlikely to risk Michael McCarthy, who is still recovering from a broken bone in his hand. Marc Ó Sé will continue at full back.
Tipperary who will also name their team tonight, will pick from a full squad.
“It was always going be difficult for us,” said coach Seamus McCarthy “but the game has been made even harder after the fright Kerry got from Waterford in round one. Jack O’Connor has had a couple of weeks to turn up the heat on his players, and we can expect them to come at us with all guns blazing right from the throw in looking to kill us off early.”
Meanwhile Cork hurler, Shane O’Neill, is set for a spell on the sidelines. The Bishopstown man tore ankle ligaments training with John Allen’s All-Ireland champions and has been ruled out for six weeks. He’ll also miss his club’s Premier IHC clash with Courcey Rovers next month and could well struggle to be fit for Cork’s Munster U21 hurling semi-final on July 18 against the winners of tomorrow night’s clash between Limerick and Waterford.
Meanwhile, two time All-Ireland U21 medal winner Pat Tobin has returned to the Limerick senior hurling panel as they prepare for the All-Ireland qualifiers. Tobin, a shock omission when the panel was announced last December, said he was delighted to be back in the fold.
“I accepted the selectors’ decision at the time and just got on with it. I missed being part of the squad over the winter months but dabbled a bit in soccer to keep myself in shape. I played in the opening game in the Limerick SHC with my club Murrroe Boher in a big win over Monaleen last week and must have impressed.”
Galway hurling boss Conor Hayes and his selectors are expected to finalise their championship squad after training tonight. And the good news for Galway is that All-star Derek Hardiman will be fit for the opening game of the All-Ireland qualifiers on Saturday week. The wing-back missed the opening games for his club Mullagh in the Galway championship with a troublesome back injury, but he has now made a full recovery.
And defender Shane Kavanagh will also be available after recovering from a leg injury.
Westmeath hurling boss Seamus Qualter will tonight select from a full squad as they prepare for Saturday’s Leinster semi-final with Kilkenny.
“I am not going to get into the business of talking about beating Kilkenny. This is about us going out and doing our best and see where that takes us,” said Qualter.
“We are fortunate that we have no injuries and that we will be putting our best side out. We are all looking forward to the game.”
