Kilkenny star Hogan facing four weeks out after suffering collapsed lung
The 2011 All Star suffered the injury in an aerial collision with Galway goalkeeper Jamie Ryan in the closing stages of Sunday’s game in Nowlan Park.
Hogan left the field shortly afterwards and was then taken to hospital where an x-ray showed up the reason for his shortness of breath.
The Danesfort man is expected to be sidelined for four weeks.
“That he’s alright is the main thing,” said selector Martin Fogarty. “Everything else takes second place.
“It’s unfortunate but Richie is not the type of guy to shy away from getting to the ball first.”
Fogarty criticised the one-match suspension handed down to Richie Power for an incident involving Cork’s Eoin Cadogan last Sunday week. Power missed the game against Galway because of it, despite Kilkenny seeking a meeting with the Central Hearings Committee (CHC) last Friday.
“It was very harsh,” said Fogarty. “We looked at the video several times and he was playing the ball. His catching hand was impeded and he attempted to strike the ball overhead, which he is entitled to do.
“He didn’t pull across him or touch him. To get a red card when he did not make any physical contact with the strike defies logic.”
Power is available for the semi-final on Sunday fortnight but Fogarty is concerned that it leaves the Carrickshock man with the risk of facing a two-match ban for a similar incident later in the year.
“Down the line, it could have an effect were he to get another one. I just couldn’t understand it. We wouldn’t have appealed if we felt he had done something wrong.”
Meanwhile JJ Delaney insists Kilkenny will be unhappy if they don’t reach a second successive league final.
The Cats lost last year’s decider to Dublin by 12 points and intend making amends this time around.
They face the winners of next Saturday’s Division 1B final between Clare and Limerick and Delaney expects the victor to go flat out to beat the Cats.
However, the Johnstown man has his eyes set firmly on winning a league title they last claimed in 2009.
“We won’t be happy if we don’t get to the league final. It’s all about getting ready for the championship. The more hurling you play the more sharpness gets right and the touch gets better.”
Delaney himself looked more comfortable at full-back on Sunday than he did on the wing the previous couple of weeks. He’s not in the form for complaining where he’s played. “Look, I’ll take corner-forward if I had to.
“You don’t argue with Brian (Cody). There’s only going to be one winner there.”
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