Cork star Goulding facing spell on sidelines

Following on from the retirements of John Miskella and Anthony Lynch, Cork football manager Conor Counihan has suffered another pre-season setback.

News has filtered through that key Rebels forward Daniel Goulding has undergone surgery on his right ankle which will see him miss the opening rounds of the 2012 Allianz Football League.

Goulding damaged his ankle during Cork's All-Ireland qualifier win over Down last July and despite making a return with his club side Éire Óg, he had to be booked in for an operation at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Dublin.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he said: "The ankle was still niggling me so I went for a scan a few weeks ago to see how it was.

"When the results came back they saw that there was still damage to the tendon in the ankle. So I had to get the operation to get it sorted. If you put it off, there's a chance it'd start giving trouble in the middle of the season and you'd miss games.

"It needed to be done and you're better off getting an operation at this time of year when it's quiet. I'll miss the start of the league but all going well I'll be back soon enough."

The 25-year-old All-Ireland and All-Star winner is expected to be sidelined for three months, with his return likely to be against either Donegal (March 4) or Laois (March 10).