Cork hopeful over injury knocks, Fitzgibbon out of Munster final

Niall O'Leary and Rob Downey will be assessed in the coming days but there are no concerns about Barry Walsh and Brian Hayes who were both taken off against Clare

Cork manager Ben O'Connor said if the scoreline against Clare had been tighter, then Brian Hayes would have been able to play on. Pic: ©INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon

Plenty of bumps and bruises from the emphatic dismissal of Clare but nothing so severe that is likely to keep any Cork hurler who lined out at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday from returning to the same field for the June 7 Munster final.

Ben O’Connor’s Monday evening injury update contained the names of four players who featured in the 1-30 to 1-14 victory over Clare.

Starting out from the back, it was a shoulder over-extension that forced Niall O’Leary to depart in the closing stages. No scan has yet taken place, but the Cork manager said the initial prognosis is that O’Leary’s injury is “not too bad”.

“Niall is a bit stiff and sore. He over-extended his shoulder, just an awkward tackle, and he fell down on top of it then as well. The boys will assess him over the coming days. They had a look at him there and he's not too bad.” 

Rob Downey, off the back of his first competitive game in a month, will also have his ankle assessed this week. The same as O’Leary, he did not play the full 70-plus minutes.

“Rob's ankle isn't 100% but they'll have a look at him again in a couple of days,” Ben continued.

The forward pair of Barry Walsh and Brian Hayes were two more starters withdrawn in the second-half on Sunday. Both substitutions were precautionary, the manager explained.

“Barry Walsh got a bit of a knock on his knee, but I don't think he's too bothered about it. He doesn't think it's that serious.

“Brian [Hayes] got a bit of a bang. At that stage we were up by ten or 11 points, so there was no point risking him. We also needed to get a bit of game-time into Shane Kingston and Paudie Power as well. If it was tighter, Brian would not have been coming off.” 

As expected, Darragh Fitzgibbon, who had his appendix removed the weekend before last, will play no part in the provincial decider against Limerick in two weeks’ time.

Robbie O’Flynn, meanwhile, is hopeful to get back on the field this weekend. The Erin’s Own clubman hurt his hamstring when introduced as a sub during the May 9 win over Waterford.

“Darragh is not going to feature. We're into the second week now and he hasn't been on the field. We're not going to risk Darragh.

“Robbie will be another couple of weeks, we think. He hasn't tried it out yet. He's hoping to maybe do a bit at the weekend but it's a chance to take. If he comes back too early and hurts it, that could be his season over.”