Mounting injuries threatening to jeopardise Tipp’s ambitions
By Shane Brophy
Tipperary’s progression out of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship to the All-Ireland series should be an achievement in itself but they head into the next phase limping, literally and metaphorically, following Sunday’s humbling defeat to Waterford.
The six-point defeat, coupled with Limerick’s win over Cork meant Tipperary miss out on a Munster Final, forced instead to settle for the back-door route through the preliminary quarter finals as the banana-skin of a local derby with Offaly in Tullamore on Saturday, 17th June.
While the experience of playing in a Munster Final would have brought the panel on a lot, having the extra week to prepare for the Offaly game might be no bad thing considering the injuries that are mounting, added to by Gearoid O’Connor and Brian McGrath.
O’Connor sustained an ankle injury after colliding with a camera bag near the Kinane stand side-line, with the management still awaiting word of whether there is a fracture or ligament damage, however both would leave him in a race against time to be fit for the Offaly game. Brian McGrath sustained a suspected punctured lung in a heavy collision in the second half. He came off initially before being sent back in but was called subsequently called ashore.
With Cathal Barrett (concussion) and Jake Morris (shoulder) unable to line out following the draw with Limerick, and Jason Forde still making his way back from a hamstring injury, Tipp’s strength in depth is being tested.
“We’ve a big job of work now to get all these fellas back on the field for a preliminary quarter-final against Offaly,” said Tipp manager Liam Cahill.
“We’d hope it’ll be enough to get everybody back on the field,” although Tipp were boosted by Niall O’Meara appearing on the panel for the first time this season on Sunday, while his Kilruane clubmate Craig Morgan is also nearing a return from a long term knee injury.
However, Liam Cahill is confident his players are made of the right stuff to bounce back in a positive manner following the manner of their non-performance against Waterford.
“These are quality players I have, they are really good players,” he added.
“That's not them today. All credit to Waterford, they didn't allow us to play. We only showed little snippets of what we are capable of. There were a couple of occasions there when we looked like the team that has progressed so well through this championship.
“But again, I can't stress enough how disappointed we are for the Tipperary public today to witness a lot of basic errors on our behalf, and it is something myself, Mikey, the management, and the players are really going to have man up and get sorted out before we can say that we are serious All-Ireland contenders.
“We are still alive. And once we are alive, we have a chance.
“Offaly will be dangerous at home; we'll have to be ready.”