Cruciate woe for Rossies star Shine

Roscommon's Donie Shine may have suffered cruciate knee ligament damage during last Sunday's Connacht SFC semi-final defeat to Mayo, but the injury is not expected to end his season.

Shine confirmed on his Twitter page this afternoon that he has a 'ruptured posterior cruciate' in his right knee. "Not great, but could be worse. Thanks for all the messages," he added.

Ruptured posterior cruciate. Not great, but could be worse. Thanks for all the messages.

— Donie Shine (@donie_89) June 10, 2014

The talismanic forward and free-taker, who had to be stretchered off in the 54th minute, underwent a scan at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Santry earlier today.

But given that it is not an ACL injury, Roscommon are optimistic that Shine's Championship campaign is not over just yet as he awaits the scan results and further 'exploratory investigation'.

A spokesman for the Rossies' camp told the GAA website they are hopeful that the 25-year-old will not require surgery and that he could return within six to eight weeks.

Roscommon's next Championship outing is not until July 12 when they will feature in round 2B of the All-Ireland qualifiers.

Shine's return will hinge on his powers of recovery and whether John Evans' side can embark on a decent run in the qualifiers.