Kerry's Jason Foley likely to miss Munster Championship

Where the Ballydonoghue man's pace and experience would be missed most is at the business end of the summer when the likes of Derry’s Shane McGuigan or Dublin’s Con O’Callaghan are capable of doing wreck

INJURY BLOW: Kerry’s Jason Foley is likely to miss the Munster Championship. Pic Credit: Morgan Treacy, Inpho.

In Kerry’s laminated list of ‘please-don’t-get-injured’ full back Jason Foley would rank pretty high.

In terms of like-for-like replacements, Jack O’Connor and his selectors are somewhat shy in this area – at least in terms of the power, pace and most importantly, experience that the Ballydonoghue man brings.

With the level of swelling around the ankle injury sustained in Sunday’s win over Roscommon, it didn’t require a scan to confirm that Foley won’t be seen any time soon – and may miss the entire Munster Championship.

If that’s the extent of the bad news, Kerry will suck it up. If Foley is back for a potential summer run at the All-Ireland round robin series, then it’s primarily Cork and Brian Hurley who might present the greatest one-on-one test to Foley’s replacement in the short to medium term. Kerry are slated to play Cork or Limerick in the provincial championship on April 20.

Kerry aren’t short of defenders, and there’s Tom O’Sullivan and his west Kerry compadre, Briain O Beagloaich to return in the short term. Dylan Casey plays full back for his club Austin Stacks and Tadhg Morley can do likewise.

Ditto Graham O’Sullivan, but what they gain in solidity they may lose in front foot threat. Where Foley would be missed most is at the business end of the summer when the likes of Derry’s Shane McGuigan or Dublin’s Con O’Callaghan are capable of doing wreck.

Foley is awaiting a scan and Kerry management are watching with interest whether there will be a retrospective probe into the incident around the scoring of Roscommon’s goal by Cathal Heneghan, and his actions in the immediate aftermath.

Kerry face Galway in their final league outing in Killarney next Sunday and have an outside chance of claiming a spot in the Division one final on Easter Sunday.

Not that it’s a priority – management and players are spending the preceding few days in the Algarve at Quinta do Lago’s Campus facility.

A league final place complicates their schedule. Kerry’s County Football League also kicks off this weekend, and those on the Kerry fringes who aren’t involved in the Galway game will look to see some club action.

With Na Gaeil’s Stefan Okunbor injured with a hamstring strain, it’s a lost opportunity to show he can fill that No 3 gap with the county.

Foley, meanwhile, is expecting confirmation of the extent of the ankle injury, later this week.