Canning unlikely to feature for Galway

Joe Canning says he is unlikely to play for Galway in their Allianz Hurling League Division 1A relegation play-off against Dublin on Sunday.

Canning missed the bulk of the Tribesmen's league campaign after suffering a dislocated collarbone while in Fitzgibbon Cup action for Limerick IT in February.

The 23-year-old's injury came off the back of a disappointing 2011 season which saw him miss most of the year through injury.

The Portumna clubman had been expected to make a return for the 'must win' clash with Dublin in Tullamore, but he said today that the match has come too soon in his recovery.

"I don't think I will be playing this weekend," admitted Canning at the announcement of Etihad Airways' five-year sponsorship deal with the GAA as a sponsor of the GAA All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

"It's a bit too soon. It's frustrating now, and I am not really looking forward to standing on the sideline again.

"It's seven weeks last Tuesday (since the injury). I'm back hitting balls and stuff like that, but it's just going to take another little while I think.

"I think I'll have no part to play on Sunday anyway."

Canning says that Galway's inconsistency during the 2012 league has been in part due to the youthful nature of the squad.

"We are still learning, we have a very young panel and I don't think people realise how young of a panel we have," he explained.

"We have 20 or 22 guys that were Under-21 last year, and 18 or 19 of them are still Under-21 this year.

"For senior level that's huge inexperience and it is a thing that we have to work on."

Canning added: "We are looking forward to it. We are working hard - we are up and down, but we were still only a puck of a ball from getting to the league semi-final.

"We could have won the Tipperary game and we could have won the Waterford game. Then obviously the disaster against Kilkenny was one of those days that they give to every team once in a while.

"We won't be too down in ourselves about that, that's just life. That happens and we just have to work hard about getting into it."