No surgery for Nemo Rangers star Paul Kerrigan

Paul Kerrigan does not require surgery for the posterior cruciate ligament tear he suffered in Nemo’s Munster club SFC final win last Sunday, but he’s still a major doubt for the All-Ireland semi-final in February.

Kerrigan came off injured late in the provincial decider against Dr Crokes, with manager Larry Kavanagh subsequently confirming that the 30-year old had suffered ligament damage.

The Cork and Munster champions are penciled in to play Slaughtneil on Saturday, February 17 — just over 11 weeks away — and, while Kerrigan does not require surgery, Kavanagh is unsure as to how long the centre-forward will be sidelined for.

“Whether the rehab takes six, eight, or 10 weeks is almost impossible to say at this stage,” Kavanagh told Examiner Sport yesterday. “The break will do Paul good and, hopefully, he can get it right. In fairness to him, he’s gone about it very fast in terms of getting the scan, results and seeing what needs to be done.”

Their All-Ireland semi-final meeting against Slaughtneill will come one week after the Derry club’s hurlers play Na Piarsaigh in the All-Ireland club SHC semi-final.

Meanwhile, Ronan McCarthy’s first game in charge of the Cork footballers will be a McGrath Cup clash in Waterford on January 7. With Limerick withdrawing from the pre-season competition, only Cork, Clare, and Waterford will compete. The first game is the meeting of Clare and Waterford on Saturday December 30 in Clare.