Tipp ace may miss semi-final

TIPPERARY manager Declan Ryan was last night sweating on the outcome of the North Board deliberations on the straight red card issued to star full-forward John O'Brien in last weekend’s divisional senior hurling final.

O'Brien was sent off just before half-time along with Kildangan’s Paraic Kelly after an altercation involving the two players. Reports from North Tipperary suggest that O'Brien has been reported for ‘striking with the head’, which is a Category two offence and brings with it an eight-week suspension.

Should this be the case O'Brien will be free to line out with Tipperary against Dublin on Sunday week in the second All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final, but anything over that period and there will be an automatic crossover to inter-county, which would rule out the ball-winning target-man. Apart from that Tipperary have no injury worries ahead of the game.