THERE ARE concerns over Cork forwards Joe Deane and Timmy McCarthy ahead of this Sunday's All-Ireland hurling quarter-final against Clare in Thurles after both players picked up ankle injuries during last weekend's victory over Galway.
As a result, the Cork team was not announced as per usual last night, but both players are expected to recover for a match that is essentially a play-off to see who faces Kilkenny in the AllIreland semi-final on August 10th.
Deane would be a significant loss as his four-point haul against Galway proved he remains one of the finest attackers in the game.
Offaly's long-serving goalkeeper Pádraic Kelly is considering his intercounty future in the wake of last Saturday's 18-point All-Ireland SFC qualifier drubbing by Down. Kelly described the result as "an absolute disaster" and the "worst I have ever played in".
Kelly, who made his championship debut in 1996, is desperate to land an elusive county SFC title with his club and admitted if he achieves that goal he may decide to call it a day at all grades.
Just one round of the Offaly SFC has been played to date, in the first week of May. The second round is scheduled for the August Bank Holiday weekend.
"I might say I have enough then, I don't know. I lost a stone and a half since Christmas. We trained like hoors up in Craughan Hill.
"I'll keep the head down now and play football with the club. I'm 32 now, relatively young for a goalkeeper, but maybe it's time for a change and for other lads to come through. I don't know. The club championship kicks off again in two weeks' time and we've never won a senior. I lost finals in 2000, '05 and last year and we're burst- ing ourselves trying to win one."
Ciarán Carey will tonight attempt to add a Munster intermediate championship to the two senior medals he won in 1994 and '96. Carey will line out at at full back on the Limerick side to face Tipperary at Semple Stadium.
The Tipp team shows one change from the side that defeated Cork in the semi-final. Ronan Sherlock come in at left corner back in place of Michael Phelan.
Finally, Diarmuid Horan, who missed last Saturday's senior clash with Waterford through injury, has been declared fit to start for Offaly against Kilkenny in the Leinster Under-21 hurling final tomorrow at Tullamore.
OFFALY (U-21H v Kilkenny):J Dempsey;
C Hernon, B Watkins, S Wynne; G Treacy,
B Leonard, D Morkam; D Horan, C Mahon;
D Currams, C Egan, D Molloy; C Coughlan,
J Bergin, F Kerrigan.
LIMERICK (IHC v Tipperary):B Hennessy;
T Condon, C Carey, G O'Leary; D Stapleton, Damian Moloney, S Walsh; P O'Brien,
A Brennan; David Moloney, P O'Reilly,
D O'Connor; D O'Neill, P McNamara,
A O'Connor.
TIPPERARY (IHC v Limerick):M Ryan;
L Mackey, M Costello, R Sherlock; E Hanley, JB McCarthy, J Lillis; T Minogue, M Harding; N Hogan, C Dillon, G Ryan; J Ryan,
D Morrissey, P Maher.
