Tipperary defender Cathal Barrett has not yet been ruled out of the Munster final after a scan revealed he suffered a “mild hamstring tear”.
The 25-year-old sustained the injury during the first half of Tipperary’s four-point victory over Limerick, before walking off the field and watching the remainder of the match from the dug-out with his hamstring strapped up. Manager Liam Sheedy said after Sunday’s game it was “highly unlikely” that Barrett would be fit in time for the final on Sunday week.
Tipperary said in a statement late last night that their medical team will monitor Barrett’s progress over the next 10 days before the team is named for the final on Friday, June 28.
Speaking ahead of the scan result yesterday afternoon, Sheedy told reporters:
I can’t see Cathal being ready for Sunday week. It’s not the first time Cathal has pulled a hamstring. If I get good news, I’ll be pleasantly surprised, but I couldn’t see it.
“But that presents a massive chance for two other players to step in and that should make training really intense for the next number of nights, which is a good thing and a positive.
“Again, we’ve had guys come in. Seán O’Brien hadn’t played the last two games and did very well [against Limerick].
“There are opportunities coming now that can give other guys a chance to step up and that’s where we’re going to learn.
“Unless you have that strength in depth in your panel, you’re not going to be competitive in the latter stages of this championship, so we’re going to find out very soon.”
Yesterday, it was confirmed that Tipperary forward Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher suffered a cruciate ligament injury during the same match.
The ruptured ACL is set to rule the Lorrha man out for the rest of the season.
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