Cork have named an identical line-up to the one that overcame Waterford in the Munster final on June 29th for the All-Ireland semi-final against Wexford at Croke Park on Sunday.
An unchanged line-up after a six-week period speaks volumes for how much Cork have turned the corner this year. It appears the unity the team developed during the strike period of last November is finally coming to fruition.
Despite Wexford's advantage of the recent quarter-final against Antrim, Cork still go into the weekend as favourites. The players have not been idle as the club championship has been in full swing throughout the period.
Setanta Ó hAilpín and John Gardiner were also both involved in the highly competitive under-21 Munster final and replay against Tipperary last week.
Centre forward Niall McCarthy's broken finger was the main injury concern, but he has sufficiently recovered. Mark Prendergast, who performed so well when he replaced Diarmuid O'Sullivan in Thurles, has been named in the panel despite fracturing a bone in his spine while playing football for his club, Na Piarsaigh, last month.
Meanwhile, Wexford - who will name their side tonight - are hoping Darragh Ryan and Adrian Fenlon recover from injury in time for Sunday's game. Ryan missed the quarter-final after sustaining a broken bone in his right hand against Waterford in the qualifiers.
"I've still to test the hand, but it's not the ideal preparation for such a huge game for the county. We'll just have to wait and see, but the selectors will have to be satisfied the hand is 100 per cent," said Ryan.
"Then it's a case of whether they believe I've sufficient hurling practice before they pick me."
Ryan is no stranger to serious injury as he just returned from cruciate knee ligament damage to play his first game for a year in the Leinster final against Kilkenny.
"It's worrying, but we are prepared to wait as long as possible," manager John Conran said.
"We'll see over the next few days the progress, but we could wait until close to the game before making a decision on his fitness."
Fenlon is suffering from a recurring hamstring injury.
"Adrian will be given a fitness test on Friday evening, we'll just have to wait and see and take it from there," said Conran. Although a huge challenge lies ahead, Conran is positive his men can produce the goods to upset Cork.
"Should we get our half forwards playing well it would be a major boost to us. A lot has been made of the half forward line but given the character of the players they are capable of giving us the boost we require," he added.
Meanwhile, the quarter-finals of the Tyrone senior football championship have been put on hold following the county's victory over Fermanagh in the All-Ireland football quarter-final last Sunday.
All four last-16 ties were due to be played next weekend, but the county board has postponed the games following consultations with manager Mickey Harte.
With 17 county squad members due to feature in the four games, the possibility of injury or suspension was a real concern, and the primary factor behind the move.
CORK (SH v Wexford): D Óg Cusack; W Sherlock, P Mulcahy, D O'Sullivan; T Kenny, R Curran, S Óg Ó hAilpín; J Gardiner, M O'Connell; Ben O'Connor, N McCarthy, T McCarthy; S Ó hAilpín, J Deane, A Browne (capt).
