*James Hegarty. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
INAGH/KILNAMONA’s James Hegarty is unlikely to make it back from injury as the Clare U20 hurlers look to record successive wins in the Munster championship.
Hegarty the All-Ireland winning centre-back on the county’s 2023 minor side missed out on Clare’s 1-10 0-12 win over Waterford with a hamstring injury.
A member of the U20 team for the past two seasons, the St Flannan’s College past pupil was the first choice centre back for Terence Fahy’s side before sustaining the injury. A return to the team is understood to be off the cards for Wednesday’s clash with Limerick but James is continuing his recovery.
His Inamona clubmate Conor Rynne was also sidelined with injury for the first round but he has since returned to training.
Ruan’s James Cullinan who excelled for his club intermediate side last season and was first centre back for the St Flannan’s Harty Cup side this season filled the centre back berth in Hegarty’s absence. It is understood that Cullinan is set to miss the second round with Limerick having picked up an injury in the closing minutes of the win over Waterford.
There is more hope on the injury front for corner forward Seán Boyce. The O’Callaghans Mills attacker has been out of action since the quarter-finals of the Fitzgibbon Cup where he was a starting member of the Mary Immaculate College side. He is poised to make a return to the inside line of Clare’s team this week.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Fahy admitted their injured personnel were not set for swift returns to the field of play. “We have a few lads but whether they will be back in the short-term is hard to see that, we were missing a few players but every team is missing players, we’re happy with our squad, we have a deep squad and we had brought on five subs by the fifty fifth minute and they all had an impact, they all had an impact in that second half, we have a deep panel, we have a next man up philosophy that panels need to have. I don’t think we will have lads back soon but we’re happy with what we have to move on”.
