Dooley on the mend after ‘ugly’ ear injury

OFFALY forward Shane Dooley is recovering today after a minor operation in Tullamore’s Midland Regional Hospital, following an injury suffered in Sunday’s Allianz Hurling League game against Dublin.

Dublin defender Peter Kelly got a yellow card after the incident, which left Dooley, an All-Star nominee last year and one of hurling’s most promising youngsters, with a serious injury.

“He’s alright, he’s had it stitched up,” said his father Joe, who is also the Offaly senior hurling manager, yesterday. “I’d prefer not to comment on the incident itself, nor on the fact that the referee didn’t see fit to check on how badly hurt Shane was before talking to the other player. But it was an ugly injury. He went to the A&E but they didn’t want to deal with it there; the cartilage had been cut, the ear was hanging off, and they brought in a specialist to make sure that a proper job was done on it, to reduce the risk of permanent damage. He’s back in college in Limerick (today), but he will definitely miss next week’s game against Tipperary.”