P.J. Delaney has been a member of the Kilkenny senior panel since the 19921993 season.
He was a young star on the teams which won the minor All-Ireland against Cork and Tipperary in 1990 and 1991 respectively and was also on the under-21 teams which reached All-Ireland finals in 1993 and 1994, winning the latter.
A member of the Fenians club in Johnstown, Mr Delaney is a talented forward who had a phenomenally successful first season as a senior.
In 1993, Kilkenny won the senior All-Ireland for the second year running and for the last time to date. In that year's final, it was Mr Delaney who scored the decisive goal towards the end of the match with Galway.
In recent years, he has won Leinster medals and played in the last two All-Ireland finals, coming on as a substitute eight days ago in the defeat by Cork. His father, Pat Delaney, won four All-Ireland medals for Kilkenny.
County secretary Mr Pat Dunphy gave the reaction in Kilkenny:
"There is obviously shock around the place - the place is in gloom; Johnstown parish is in gloom. It's only a week after he was coming on in the All-Ireland final. Desperate. Everyone is shocked."
Mr Dunphy was speaking after yesterday's All-Ireland under-21 final which Kilkenny won, defeating Galway by two points, and in which Mr Delaney's brother, Paudge, came on as a second-half substitute.