Alan Connolly set for longer spell out as Seán O'Donoghue battles to make Waterford tie

Alan Connolly is unlikely to feature for Cork in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship as he continues his recuperation from a shoulder injury.

The Blackrock forward underwent surgery that kept him out of the Allianz Hurling League but, while it was hoped that the might be back in time for the championship at the end of this month, he has stepped away from the panel for now to ensure a full recovery.

Speaking at the Munster championships launch in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Wednesday, Cork selector Donal O’Mahony said that the door will remain open for a return for Connolly.

“Things are always open-ended,” he said, “as a management, you always want to have the best players in with you.

“Alan has a difficult injury, a legacy injury that he wanted to get sorted. 

We all felt that it was probably best that he went back to his own physio in Blackrock, under the guidance of the Cork physios, to get him right.

“Other than that, the injury list is positive. When you’ve a five-week lead-in to the championship, it allows you to get your house in order with the injuries. Mark Coleman is a long-term injury too since early in the year, but all of the rest of them are beginning to clear.”

BONUS

Coleman is being allowed to recover from his knee injury at his own pace, with no set return date.

“There’s not,” O’Mahony said. “We’re not putting any pressure on him because, if you’re talking about a fixed date, it puts pressure on everybody.

“We’re focusing on the fellas that we have, we’re focusing on the championship, it’s a bonus then if we do get him back. He was in at training last night and he was around the group and things like that.

“He’s been an important player since he came in for Cork and it’s about taking the pressure off him now and letting him get himself right. There’s nothing worse in bringing someone back before time and then having him get injured again, so we’re trying to give him that bit of space.”

Darragh Fitzgibbon also missed all of the league while Robbie O’Flynn was forced off in the opening game against Limerick but both are back in full training.

Team captain Seán O’Donoghue also retired against the Shannonsiders with a dead leg but his recovery has been slow.

“As I was saying to somebody recently, you’d have been very surprised if you were told leaving here after the Limerick match that Robbie O’Flynn would be back before Seán O’Donoghue,” O’Mahony said.

“Seán has been unfortunate. He’s back doing a bit of running now and it’s a case of taking it day by day with him. It’s too early to say if he’ll be fit for Waterford. Wayne [Sherlock] had an injury like that when he was playing and when it happened that night he said, ‘That’ll be seven or eight weeks, it’s very awkward.’

“The other side of it is that, when it does start healing, it heals very quickly. 

With his experience and the fact that he’s our captain and our leader, we’d love to have him back.

“When you’re picking a captain, you’re looking for someone with mental strength and Seánie has that in abundance.

“Some fellas get down when they get injured, especially if it’s long-term, but Seánie’s at training every night, talking to guys before he does his rehab. He’s a really positive guy and that was one of the reasons we picked him as captain.”