'It’s not just the player in front of you. I’m a young man' - Gearóid Hegarty on impact of rumours 

Social media chatter suggested the Limerick talisman had been axed from John Kiely's panel earlier this year. 

YES CHEF: Limerick hurler Gearóid Hegarty with Irish sprinter Sharlene Mawdsley, left, and Ireland Women's rugby player Stacey Flood at the launch of Zambrero Ireland's Plate4Plate meal packing event. Picture: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

All’s well that ended well for Gearóid Hegarty but by the conclusion of this past inter-county season the Limerick star was blowing his cheeks.

His championship didn’t have the most auspicious of starts as he saw the line for a second yellow card against Waterford. He had been harshly dismissed for two bookings in the Munster SHC clash with Clare in Ennis the summer before but there were no mitigating factors in Thurles.