Brian Whelahan must plan without influential stars

Two of Offaly hurling’s most experienced campaigners will miss the majority of the league. 

Last year’s captain Joe Bergin, currently nursing a long-standing back problem, says it will be up to five weeks before he returns to full training, while hamstring-troubled David Kenny is to skip the entire spring campaign.

Added to Rory Hanniffy and Kevin Brady’s retirement last November, manager Brian Whelahan has been robbed of four of his most influential players.

Bergin, 27, admits to playing through the pain barrier over the past two seasons but realised he had to take a step back over the winter if he was to avoid long-term damage.

“My complaint is called a straight back,” he said. “Because the muscles in your back are not strong enough it means your spine is straight which puts serious pressure on your lower discs.

“My back went straight so my middle discs were doing very little while my lower discs were doing too much. It was troubling me the best part of two years. It was constant physio and painkillers to get me through games.

“I needed to step back and get myself right which I did at the end of last season. Once the ground gets hard I don’t want to be straight back onto a physio table.”

He added: “I’d do 70% of the training, but there is some stuff I have to be careful of because I am only easing my way back. Your back controls so much, so I have to be careful not to overdo it.”