Cavan's Dermot McCabe has become the first casualty of this year's International Rules tour and will miss tomorrow's first Test in Melbourne. This was confirmed by Ireland manager Brian McEniff after McCabe was unable to take part in training.
An apparently innocuous ankle injury deteriorated after strapping to the point where he could no longer put any pressure on the foot.
McEniff is to make a decision on whether to summon Jarlath Fallon first thing this morning, as any further delay would mean the Galway player won't arrive in time for the Test.
The player Fallon could replace, Niall Buckley, received an injection for his hamstring injury and was rested, along with Seβn de Paor, for the training session. Both confined their exercise to the swimming pool. De Paor, according to McEniff, is certain to play but requires special treatment for a long-running calf strain.
Another decision the Ireland management have to make today is what players to leave out of the first-Test panel. Having named 27 in the travelling party, McEniff and selectors must reduce their number by four to conform with match regulations. McCabe's injury decides one of the places and the bad news for three others will be announced.
McEniff is expected to leave the revelation until after today's joint media conference with his Australian counterpart Garry Lyon. The announcement will virtually decide the team for the first Test, given that all eight non-starting players will feature as inter-change replacements throughout the match.
The conference will also include team captains Anthony Tohill and Craig Bradley who, in the absence of the injured James Hird, becomes Australia's fourth captain in as many years.
Australia have had their own selection problems. One of the more pressing is the need to find a goalkeeper, a position that doesn't exist in Australian Rules.
Traditionally the team has survived this difficulty because of the outstanding displays of various individuals over the years.
Carlton's Stephen Silvagni proved himself one of the best in the first couple of series after the resumption in 1998. He has an ankle injury this year but has been helping out at training. Silvagni also missed last year's series, when Andrew Kellaway proved an able deputy, but he is not on this year's panel.
Initially the plan was to give the responsibility to defender Darren Gaspar but according to Lyon, "he didn't look that comfortable in there".
No decision is going to be made on the selection until this afternoon's final workout. Favourite to fill in is Simon Goodwin but Lyon has said that Australia will, if necessary, rotate the 'keeper's jersey during the match. "We have got a pretty open mind," he said.
An innovation being introduced tomorrow night will see the referees wired up to microphones to facilitate communication between them and their officials during the match. It will also enable members of the joint GAA-AFL Match Committee to listen in on the decisions and improve their data for monitoring and issuing reports on the performances of match officials.
Finally Eircell-Vodafone announced yesterday that the company's Player of the Month awards for September will be presented in Adelaide the day before the second Test. Two players, Tipperary captain Thomas Dunne and Galway's Declan Meehan, are to be honoured for their performances in last month's All-Ireland finals.
This extravagant undertaking marks the introduction of Eircell's dual branding strategy with the Vodaphone Group, which has recently acquired the Irish company.
A company statement added that as the GAA, one of "Eircell-Vodaphone's most significant sponsorship partners, is engaged in an international tour, it was felt appropriate to hold a once-off Player of the Month award during the tour in Australia."
Dunne and Meehan will fly out next Monday and return eight days later after watching the concluding International Rules match of the current series.
Given Meehan's form and the slowly climbing injury count in the Irish camp, the speedy Galway wing-back may find himself more centrally involved.
