Robbie O’Flynn facing 'six weeks minimum' on sideline, says Pat Ryan

The Cork manager will plan without the star forward for the rest of the Munster campaign at least.

Tue, 16 May, 2023 - 14:18

Eoghan Cormican

The hamstring injury suffered by Robbie O’Flynn when scoring Cork’s second goal of their thrilling stalemate with Tipperary will sideline the forward for a minimum of six weeks.

O’Flynn’s second injury setback of the season means he will sit out the remainder of the county’s Munster hurling championship campaign.

Should Cork progress beyond the provincial round-robin, O’Flynn is unlikely to be ready for action until the All-Ireland semi-finals at the beginning of July.

O’Flynn’s goal the weekend before last brought Cork back within a point of Tipperary at the end of the first half. It was to prove, however, his last involvement as he injured his hamstring in the process of finding the net.

The Tipperary game had represented O’Flynn’s first start since the county’s league opener three months previous on February 4. A dislocated ankle sustained late on in the win over Limerick meant the 25-year-old half-forward did not see any more gametime until introduced as a sub during Cork’s Munster championship opener against Waterford on April 30.

“It'll be six weeks minimum,” said Cork manager Pat Ryan of O’Flynn’s latest injury frustration.

“It is a massive disappointment for him because he made a huge effort to come back [after the ankle injury]. Our physio, Colm Coakley, is an Erin's Own man too. They worked savagely hard together.

“Robbie was going well in training. He played well against Waterford when he came on. We started him against Tipp then. It was very disappointing that after he got a brilliant goal, he picked up the injury.

“He got a shoulder as he put the ball into the net, and he nearly jumped up to stop and kind of injured the bottom part of his hamstring close to his knee in the process.

“It needs to be reassessed and he's going back to get further clarification on it. But minimum six weeks.”

There is better news for Sean O’Donoghue. The Cork captain, who has had no involvement since suffering a dead leg during the aforementioned league opener against Limerick, is set to make his return at Cusack Park, Ennis this Sunday.

Ryan confirmed that the corner-back is available for selection for the county’s crunch Round 4 tie away to Clare. If O’Donoghue starts or makes an appearance off the bench, it will be his first bit of gametime in three and a half months.

“Sean is good and fully available for selection,” Ryan continued.

“He has a load of work done. Plenty of confidence. We felt the Waterford game was too soon for him. We just said we'd put him away until the Clare game, give him that extra couple weeks to get himself fully right and be involved in our training games a bit more. Sean is fully ready to go.

“The question for us is: is it better to start him and see how long we can get out of him, or do you bring him in? We'll weigh up what's best for Sean. He is the captain of our team, a huge leader for us. He's mad for road.”

Joining O’Flynn on the injured list for Sunday’s spin to Ennis are Jack O’Connor (bone injury) and Conor O’Callaghan (hamstring).

O’Connor hasn’t featured since being substituted 50 minutes into the League semi-final defeat to Kilkenny at the end of March.

“Jack is out at the moment with a bone stress injury. That has been ongoing for a couple of months. He has been resting it, then coming back in, and it flares up again. It is hard on him.”

A Cork victory will take Ryan's charges to five points on the Munster table and put them in a very strong position to finish in the top three.