Galway dealt Rabbitte blow as injury troubles deepen before camogie final

Galway are dealing with a "huge amount injuries" ahead of the final against Cork. On a positive note, Aoife Donohue and Dervla Higgins are expected to recover in time

Sabina Rabbitte's comeback in the All-Ireland semi-final was short-lived as she was forced off just three minutes after entering the action. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Galway forward Sabina Rabbitte has been ruled out of Sunday’s All-Ireland camogie final, with manager Cathal Murray “really worried” that one or two more will also miss the decider because of injury.

Rabbitte, not long returned from a fractured foot, made her first inter-county appearance of 2026 when introduced in the 54th minute of the All-Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny.

The return, though, was incredibly short-lived. Rabbitte was on the Thurles field only three minutes when a thumb injury forced her back onto the sideline.

Used off the bench during last year’s final win over this weekend’s opponents, Rabbitte will have no involvement on Sunday after undergoing surgery last week.

“Sabina is definitely out. She went for an operation on Tuesday morning. Her thumb is obviously in a bad way. It is going to be a long-term injury for her,” said Murray.

“It is frustrating for her as she is just back from injury. She got injured with the club, and in fairness to her she has an awful lot of hard work done just to get back into contention, and she was in contention.

“She made a big, big difference for us when she came on in last year's All-Ireland final. She is going to be a huge loss. Gutted for her. Very frustrating for her.” 

2025 All-Star Niamh Mallon hasn’t featured in maroon since injuring her shoulder 30 minutes into their All-Ireland series opener at home to Cork on June 6, a game where the champions were soundly beaten by Ger Manley’s side.

“Niamh hasn't really trained since she hurt her shoulder against Cork and reinjured it again in an in-house game. Really, really touch and go for her,” Murray added.

Aoife Donohue and Dervla Higgins both departed the semi-final with knocks, but the All-Star pair are expected to resume their starting roles against Cork.

“Jennifer Hughes is also injured, she hasn't played any part in the championship so far. But she was a big, big player for us in the League. Niamh McPeake couldn't train on Tuesday [after the semi-final]. McPeake didn't train on Thursday night [either], so we have a huge amount of injuries.

“I've been here a while, but I haven't actually seen the set-up that bad, but they are just niggly injuries for a lot of them. We have a really good medical team. They are going to be really busy.

“We are going to be throwing everything at it to try and get as many on the field as we can. They are certainly not all going to make it, but we'll be hoping a lot of them will make it.

“It is an All-Ireland final, it is amazing how quick players will recover for an All-Ireland final. We are just hoping a lot of them do recover. But there are one or two you'd be really concerned about.”