Cork boss Ronan McCarthy says Seán Powter likely to miss Munster opener

By Larry Ryan

Rising Cork star Seán Powter looks likely to miss the Rebels’ Munster Football Championship opener against Tipperary or Waterford after suffering a setback with his hamstring injury.

The Douglas man suffered a hamstring tear in January’s league opener against Tipperary and only returned to training a fortnight ago.

Powter had been targeting a comeback in time for Cork's Munster campaign but Cork are now planning without him, according to boss Ronan McCarthy.

The new timescale for Powter's recovery is likely to keep him out of a potential tie with Tipperary on May 26 or, if Waterford beat Tipp in their first-round meeting, a clash with the Déise on June 2.

“He won't make the first game we are being told,” McCarthy said today. “Next game after that, win or lose, is late June. That's the next realistic target.”

Speaking about the injury earlier this month, Powter said: “I was just running and I felt a little click in my hamstring.”

"It wasn’t long until that click turned into a bigger issue than it first sounded.

“I thought it was a small enough injury at the start, and then I got another scan which showed there was a tendon tear."