Tipperary manager Eamon O'Shea has confirmed that his squad came through last weekend's round of club championship matches unscathed and that he will have a full panel to pick from ahead of the All-Ireland hurling final on Sunday week.
Despite calls for the Tipperary county championship to be suspended to protect players with the final against Kilkenny in mind, all games went ahead and O'Shea's players were reportedly fine afterwards.
“It’s looking good,” said O’Shea. “I got an outline summary from the physio on Sunday evening, but it’s looking good. Bonner [Patrick Maher] is okay. I can’t exactly tell you what was wrong with him [in the semi-final] – he was sore on the day but he’s fine now. I can’t control what happens on the field, so I wasn’t waiting by the phone. I just waited for the call from the physio and he told me. I can’t worry over things I can’t control.”
Referee named
Meanwhile,
Barry Kelly
was yesterday announced as the referee for the All-Ireland final. The Westmeath man will be taking charge of his fourth final. It will be his first Kilkenny v Tipperary final.
“He’s one of the top referees on the circuit and we see them during the year in the league and the championship,” said Tipperary selector Michael Ryan. “I don’t envy them their job. Hurling is just so fast and if we think we’re critiqued in depth, those guys – all referees – anything they miss, or that’s perceived that they miss, and we’re all on their backs.”
