Cats still decimated by injury, says Cody

Kilkenny boss Brian Cody is facing an injury crisis as the National Hurling League approaches, he revealed yesterday.

“Michael Rice is a fair bit away from hurling still he is going to be a couple of months anyway and hopefully he gets back into it.

“Henry (Shefflin) obviously is out of the equation for quite a while. TJ (Reid) since the All-Ireland replay is still out and targeting May to be back, probably.

“Cillian Buckley had a hip operation and is getting closer, he’ll be a few weeks. Richie Doyle had a hip operation — he’s going to be a couple of months.

“Walter Walsh has tendonitis in both knees — we don’t know yet to be honest and that’s enough to keep us going. Eoin Larkin has ongoing groin difficulties but it’s just a question of managing them and take it as it comes sort of stuff so we have quite a few.”

Cody said Rice had put in “savage work” to try to get back after a badly broken hand in the All-Ireland semi-final, while Shefflin faces another few weeks on the sideline: “He (Shefflin) has got to go back to the surgeon in four or five weeks’ time to look at the situation and maybe take it from there. Certainly right now he is not going to be with us for the immediate future.”

Cody paid tribute to the departed Noel Hickey also: “He is going to be a massive loss and it has been strange already to see the dressing room without him.

“People might say ‘ah, he wasn’t starting every game for the last year’ but it didn’t matter, he was a massive presence in our dressing room and he was a player who obviously gave outstanding service. He epitomised everything that we are about, I suppose, and you don’t replace him.”

Cody admits he has a longer-term focus for his walking wounded, and is anticipating a tricky league campaign as a result.

“The league is coming up very quickly and it’s going to be very interesting but it’s very hard for us to see how we are going to go — we are going to be struggling injury-wise for quite a while I’d say, but that’s fine. It doesn’t bother me either too much once the injuries recover. It is the opportunity to test the panel and it is going to be massively tested going over to Galway on Sunday week.”