Cork travel to Nowlan Park but the Cats are limping

UPMC Nowlan Park is the venue as Cork travel to take on Kilkenny, who sit fourth with four points from three games so far in the National Hurling League Division 1A.

But when the Cats take on the Rebels, they’ll still be without some of their sharpest claws.

It’s Derek Lyng’s fourth season in charge, and after last weekend’s win over Waterford he confirmed that TJ Reid still needs a few weeks before returning from injury.

The captain – named for a third time in the role – is still working his way back from a long rehab. Adrian Mullen is gone for the league entirely after thumb and groin surgeries. Harry Shine and Tommy Walsh are both returning from ACL injuries and still have a long way to go.

There are a few positives, David Blanchfield returned against Waterford and was exceptional in midfield particularly in the second half, while Lyng Tom Phelan could be involved as soon as this weekend, as he returns from a length knee injury.

After adding Eddie Brennan and Niall Corcoran to the backroom team for 2026, the league campaign got off to a rusty start with a four-point win over an Offaly side who are now almost certain to be relegated. Kilkenny then fell to Limerick in round three after the bye, slipping away in the final 15 minutes. Eoin Cody’s haul of 1-6 masked his and Kilkenny’s wastefulness on the day.

Against Waterford they were sloppy in parts, finishing with 11 wides and two attempts dropped short, but Lyng could take positives too. Mossy Keoghan found a green flag for the second consecutive game – it was brilliantly taken too – while Liam Moore constantly threatened.

Defensively Mikey Butler impressed and Darragh Corcoran really came into the game from centre-back in the second half.

All of bar one (Stephen Donnelly) of their starting attacking eight got on the scoresheet, but Donnelly’s replacement, Ed McDermott – who was a key part of UCC’s Fitzgibbon Cup run this season – came on and raised a white flag a minute after his introduction.

The Cats were slow to get off the mark against Offaly and Limerick. They didn’t manage a score until the 13th minute against Limerick and had five wides clocked up against Offaly after 10. They were better in the early stages at home to Waterford, but still had five misses after 15 minutes.

A sloppy start like that against Cork will most certainly be punished. With the form Ben O’Connor’s side are in and the pace of their hurling they’ve played this year, Kilkenny will find themselves in a hole if they don’t get up to speed quickly.

Cork have shown they’re capable of the quick bursts that both Limerick and Waterford have already profited from. This will be Kilkenny’s toughest challenge so far, and with relegation lingering in the background, they can’t afford a big hit to their scoring difference, either.

Especially given that they play Galway after Cork.

TJ Reid and Mullen will be huge losses for Kilkenny and Cork will be hopeful of taking advantage of that and getting a step closer to a place in the league final.

How Ben O’Connor approaches this one with Cork back in action after the three-week break is intriguing. Brian Keating, Hugh O’Connor and Alan Walsh have all seen game time from the bench, but none of the three are yet to make starts.

It’s more likely that O’Connor or Walsh will feature given the midfield partnerships were already rejigged in the win over Tipp.

Damien Cahalane, Paudie O’Sullivan, Ben Cunningham, Darragh O’Sullivan and Padraig Power are all yet to see any minutes on the pitch, but the O’Sullivans might see game time over the next few games, with the Offaly game at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh in particular where we’re likely to see the greatest rotation.