Rebels fear injured duo may miss final and Armagh date

CORK may be without Colm O’Neill and Patrick Kelly for Sunday’s McGrath Cup final against Tipperary, and the pair could also miss the opening round of the Allianz Football League Division 1 against Armagh on February 5.

Kelly was replaced before half time in Sunday’s semi-final victory over Cork IT at Páirc Uí Rinn, while O’Neill limped off with 18 minutes left. Both men suffered hamstring injuries.

Cork selector Ger O’Sullivan admitted: “They’re not serious injuries but they’re almost certain to be out of the match at the weekend. They will receive treatment this week, but with the Armagh game less than a fortnight away there’s a chance they might miss that match as well.

“The one good thing is that both came off straightaway when they realised they were injured.

“Paddy Kelly put his hand up immediately and we brought Fiachra Lynch in, and even though we had all our subs used when Colm pulled up we felt it was best to finish with 14 players than to risk anything.”

The injuries mean that attacking options for manager Conor Counihan and his selectors are growing scarce.

Daniel Goulding, Ciarán Sheehan and David Goold are all out while Mark Collins and Barry O’Driscoll are tied up with UCC.