Canning a doubt for Galway’s replay after injuring hand

JOE CANNING has emerged a doubt for Galway’s Leinster semi-final replay against Offaly next Saturday after suffering a hand injury in the drawn match.

But the Galway camp are breathing a sigh of relief after initial fears that the sharpshooter had broken a bone in his hand were dispelled.

However, Canning has severe bruising on his hand and Galway boss John McIntyre faces an anxious wait on his availability. Canning’s older brother Ollie is troubled by a hamstring injury while midfielder David Burke and wing-forward Damien Hayes are nursing shoulder and knee injuries respectively but are expected to be available. Wing-forward Andy Smith, who missed the drawn match through suspension, will be available for Saturday evening’s clash in Portlaoise.

Meanwhile, Longford boss Glenn Ryan will welcome attacker Brian Kavanagh back for his first championship start of the year when they meet Mayo in the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers in Pearse Park next Saturday.

Kavanagh was unable to feature in their Leinster SFC tie against Louth last month having broken a bone in his foot in training and there were doubts over his ability to play in the rest of the campaign. But Kavanagh played in a recent challenge match victory over Westmeath and Bernard McIlvanney is also expected to recover from injury to challenge for a starting berth.

Opponents Mayo may delay naming their starting line-up until just before throw-in on Saturday. Manager John O’Mahony is likely to make several changes to his starting 15 from the team that crashed to victory against Sligo in the Connacht SFC quarter-final earlier this month. Chris Barrett missed out on that game through illness, Alan Dillon and Trevor Howley were sidelined with hamstring injuries, while Pat Harte was also absent with injury, but all four have now recovered to be available for selection. Aidan Kilcoyne is still out with knee ligament damage while Tom Cunniffe has been hampered by a groin problem recently.

Donegal will be without corner-forward Dermot Molloy for their All-Ireland qualifier clash with Armagh, after he picked up a four-week retrospective ban following an incident with defender Damien Rafferty in their Ulster quarter-final against Down. County U21 pair Leo McLoone and Fergal McNulty, who did not feature against Down, have both left the squad since that game. Colm McFadden is the most likely replacement for Molloy, while U21 duo Paddy McGrath and Mark McHugh, and long-serving defender Eamonn McGee are also in contention for starting places.

Clare manager Michéal McDermott has worries over St Senan’s Kilkee attacking duo Michael O’Shea and David Russell ahead of their qualifier tie against Offaly in O’Connor Park, Tullamore next Saturday afternoon. Russell who operated at both full-forward and midfield during their Munster championship defeat against Waterford is troubled with a groin injury, while O’Shea, who impressed at corner-forward during that game, has an achilles tendon problem.

Tipperary manager John Evans will have to make at least three changes for their qualifier tie on Sunday afternoon against Laois, with corner-back Ciarán McDonald, half-back Chris Aylward and corner-forward Sean Carey all having opted out of the squad since the Munster championship exit against Kerry. Defenders Andrew Morrissey and Brian Fox, and attacker Bria Coen, who were all introduced against Kerry, are in line for selection.

Meanwhile Dublin midfield ace Eamonn Fennell has received a major boost in his saga of attempting to seek a transfer from O’Tooles to the St Vincent’s club. The Disputes’ Resolution Authority (DRA) have not ruled his application out of order, and have decided to refer the matter back to the Dublin County Board.