Optimism and drive fire Hickey back in Limerick reckoning

You get the sense that if there was a test case for the ideal way to deal with a cruciate ligament tear, Seamus Hickey would make the perfect candidate.

The Limerick hurler was stretchered off after just 15 minutes of last year’s All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Clare, meaning a season that had been generating so much excitement and anticipation ended on a disastrous collective and personal note.

Clare went on to win the All-Ireland final, beating a Cork side Limerick had swatted aside to claim the Munster crown. While the Shannonsiders were left to reflect on what might have been, Hickey was left to face a long struggle and lonely mornings in the gym before work.