Lynch and Miskella on mend

Cork hope to have key defensive duo Anthony Lynch and John Miskella available for their All-Ireland SFC quarter-final tie on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

Lynch and Miskella were late withdrawals from the side before Sunday’s Munster final with groin and knee injuries, respectively, and their absences were sorely felt against an impressive Limerick attack.

Cork selector Ger O’Sullivan revealed: "We were hoping right up until the game that they’d be fit but it didn’t become evident until Saturday that they weren’t going to make it.

"Anthony suffered a groin injury last week in training and that was bothering him. John’s knee is still troubling him since the drawn Kerry match and he aggravated it again recently. We’d be hopeful that they’ll be okay for the All-Ireland quarter-final but the difficulty is upcoming club games. There’s a busy schedule ahead and we’ll need every one to pull through."

Meanwhile Michael Shields has admitted that the absence of Lynch and Miskella was a huge pre-match blow.

"Especially against Kerry, Miskella and Lynchie were huge pluses for us. Anthony Lynch is a warrior in defence, he’s the leader, Miskella is just a top-class player, he’s an international player, he’s been doing it for the past few years. They were definitely big losses and we hope to have them back as soon as possible."