Galway's unbeaten league record was swept from under their feet last weekend against Down, and now they've been dealt a double blow with scans revealing that defender Colin Forde has torn his cruciate ligament bringing his footballing year to a premature end.

The 2011 All-Ireland Under 21 winning captain had established himself as a regular in the county’s full back line since making his debut almost five years ago.

Having missed last year’s entire campaign due to work commitments in England, Forde returned for this 2015 season after helping his club Killererin in their championship survival battle last October.

The 2007 minor All-Ireland winning full back had featured in two FBD League games, and started in the number three jersey in Kevin Walsh's team's first two Allianz League Division Two matches.

He didn’t feature in the county’s one point defeat to Down last Sunday though, a game his team had led in, by seven points with ten minutes remaining, yet somehow managed to lose.

It’s now been revealed that the 24 year-old suffered a cruciate ligament tear in the week following his last league appearance against Westmeath. This is his second time to have been hit by the now dubbed ’cruciate curse’, but having returned strongly from the previous knock hopes are high among the panel that pending a successful operation Forde will be back in the maroon of Galway at some stage in 2016.

An operation date has not yet been set.

Forde's absence coincides with the return of fellow underage prodigy Johnny Duane, that's the prospected future full and centre back in the Connacht county, who has in the past week returned to training from an injury set back of his own. Midfielder Tom Flynn who will miss the remainder of the league with a medial ligament injury which has already been operated on.

Paul Conroy and Damien Comer have only recently returned to the frame while Martin Coady who featured in all five of Galway's pre season games remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Current full-forward and another graduate from the same glorious minor and Under 21 teams as Forde and Duane; Paddy Sweeney is another said to be struggling with a shoulder concern and is a doubt going into Sunday's encounter with Cavan. He has scored 2-5, all from play, in his two league starts against Westmeath and Down.

The county’s Corofin contingent also remain unavailable as they compete in the All-Ireland Club final on St Patrick’s day.