Cork boss John Cleary confirms Conor Corbett will miss start of league due to injury

Cork boss John Cleary has said that forward Conor Corbett will miss the start of the Allianz Division 2 Football League due to injury.

The Clyda Rovers sharpshooter suffered a shoulder injury before Christmas, which Cleary confirmed after his side’s comfortable win over Tipperary on Tuesday night.

The Rebels won on a scoreline of 1-26 to 0-10 in Cork’s first outing of the 2026 McGrath Cup played in Cappawhite.

“What I took from it was that we had a competitive game,” Cleary said post-match.

“We got minutes into legs, obviously Tipperary weren’t as strong as they could be, but I was pleased with our application because it was a difficult night. There was rain at the start and there was a wind there.

“There’s a lot of competition for places. Fellas put their hands up and that’s what we asked them to do. We’re happy now, we’ve got a good bit done training wise, but there’s nothing like a competitive game.

“Even the lads were saying there, look, they’ve been training, but it isn’t the same thing. Even when you get a game against another county, there’s always learnings.

“Our lads kept going and kept going. A lot of them really wanted that game and that’s what we got tonight.” 

Cork went strong with their team selection, which raised eyebrows and the bench was stacked with quality too.

“Well, I think we have our panel of maybe 46," the Cork boss says.

"What we had out there tonight, plus lads involved with their college teams plus our injuries, that’s it.

“We’re not going to go outside the 46, I would think, at this stage now.

“We have 12 or 13 college guys to come back in and we might have maybe another five or six that are injured. So, you know, that’s what we have now, you know.

“The college lads, they’ve been putting their hand up and I’d have loved to have blooded a few of them tonight or give them a go because they’ve been going well in training. Unfortunately, it clashes with the Sigerson Cup.” 

When asked by The Echo regarding Corbett’s absence, the Cork boss confirmed that he’s set to miss the opening league game against Cavan on Sunday, January 25 and likely the second game the week after, which is away to Louth in Ardee.

“Yeah, Conor is out for the first two matches in the league anyway. He dislocated his shoulder before Christmas, unfortunately. But look, he’s on his way back.

“He’ll miss the first two matches in the league at least. Look, touch wood, we didn’t get any injuries tonight."