Brosnan facing four-week lay-off

Kerry captain Eoin Brosnan is expected to be fit for the Kingdom's Championship opener against Tipperary on May 26.

Brosnan has to be replaced by Brian McGuire during the early stages of last Sunday's 1-16 to 2-12 victory over Tyrone, having pulled his thigh muscle.

It is a similar injury to the one which troubled the experienced defender during Dr. Crokes' club Championship run.

It will rule Brosnan out for up to four weeks, but Kerry officials say he should be back to full fitness for their Munster Championship quarter-final against Tipp in Killarney next month.

Kerry strung together successive wins over Down, Cork and Tyrone to narrowly avoid relegation from Division 1 of the Allianz Football League.

Speaking after that one-point triumph in Omagh last weekend, Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice said that their hard work in training, which including a week-long camp in Portugal, paid off in the end.

He told RTÉ: "It's a great relief to be still in Division 1. We can look forward to the Championship with renewed belief.

"I think the training camp (in Portugal) helped us a lot and the work we put in out there came to fruition against Tyrone.

"In saying that, there are things to work on, considering the way Tyrone controlled most of the second half. It is seven weeks to our next competitive game and all our focus will be on that clash (with Tipperary)."