Flanagan off Westmeath panel

Westmeath have again lost the services of star forward Martin Flanagan as the Lakes County prepares for the defence of its Leinster championship crown.

The Tyrrellspass man withdrew from Páidí Ó Sé's panel this week, following the dropping of David Mitchell and Shane Colleary from the squad.

Ó Sé said: "Martin won't be part of our panel for the championship. He's cried off. Things weren't working out for him. The injuries he received and the operations and so on left him a little too much to do."

Flanagan missed out on last year's historic championship win, initially through injury. It was then claimed that he had a dispute with team management.

However, he rejoined the panel in January and made his comeback in the league against Cork in February.