Knee problem the reason for Bubbles' omission from Tipperary panel

Manager Colm Bonnar won't rule out John O'Dwyer returning to his squad this season

Tipperary's John O'Dwyer escapes Conor Gleeson of Waterford

A knee injury is the reason John O'Dwyer has been left out of the Tipperary panel for the Allianz Hurling League, confirmed manager Colm Bonnar.

There was surprise last week when the two-time All-Ireland winner was omitted from Tipperary's 32-man squad.  But speaking on Tipp FM, new manager Bonnar confirmed that injury is the reason.

“Who wouldn’t like to have John on their panel?

“I’ve been talking to John since December and he’s having trouble with his knee and we got it scanned.

“It just developed, he tried the knee again out in early January in a challenge match and it was a lot worse than he thought.

“We are back to square one where we need to work on it again and get to what’s causing the issue, what’s causing the pain."

And Bonnar wouldn't rule out a reappearance this year for the Killenaule player if he is able to clear up the issue.

“There’s no one ever ruled out, and someone who has the skill level that Bubbles has and the experience that he has, it would be foolish to rule any player of that calibre out.”