Shane Cooney fitness boost for St Thomas' and Henry Shefflin

Shane Cooney of St Thomas' during the 2021 Galway County Senior Club Hurling Championship Final match between Clarinbridge and St Thomas' at Pearse Stadium in Galway. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Galway hurling manager Henry Shefflin will get an early season boost with experienced defender Shane Cooney set to be available for action after recovering from a cruciate injury which has sidelined him since January.

Cooney is set to feature for St Thomas’ as they bid for their fifth Galway SHC title in a row next Sunday, having come on as a sub in their semi-final win over Sarsfields.

Cooney was outstanding for St Thomas’ a year ago in the final against Clarinbridge when his older brother Conor skippered them for the fourth year in a row to the county title.

But the 27-year-old suffered a cruciate injury in a challenge match against NUIG in January as St Thomas’ were preparing for their All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Shefflin’s home club Ballyhale Shamrocks.

St Thomas’ manager Kenneth Burke paid tribute to the way Cooney has battled all year to get back in action.

“It was a massive blow in January before we played Ballyhale to lose your top-class centre-back. He got the surgery done and started working to get back. He thought he might be back a bit earlier but there was a setback, but he battled on.

“He’s back now training, he’s nearly fully fit and he’s pushing. It’s a massive boost when you get a player like that available to you and we are delighted to have him back,” said Burke.

It remains to be seen if Cooney will start on Sunday in the final against Loughrea or whether he will be drafted in during the game against their neighbours.

Mark Caulfield has come in to man the centre-back role all season and the displays from the towering defender have been a factor in St Thomas’ reaching their seventh final in eleven years, having never been in one before.

Shane Cooney was only 16 when he came on in the 2012 final to guide them to their maiden title in the final against Loughrea and he was centre-back when they won it in 2016 and throughout the three-in-a-row.

St Thomas’ have never lost a county final and the availability of Cooney could be a huge factor at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.