NEWMARKET CELTIC’s Eoin Hayes is in a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s Banner Carpets and Flooring Clare Cup final.
Hayes sustained an ankle injury in Sunday’s 3-2 defeat to Shannon Town Utd, a loss which may prove detrimental in their bid to retain the Premier Division title. Celtic had been leading 2-1 at half-time when the former FAI Junior International of the Year had to hobble off.
His training has been restricted this week in advance of the double showdown with Avenue Utd to determine the League and Cup champions and he remains doubtful to feature in both of these contests.
Fellow two-time Oscar Traynor medallist, Eoin O’Brien is unavailable for selection, both he and Hayes are chasing their tenth Clare Cup medal in a row. O’Brien who previously lined out with Limerick FC has been an immeasurable loss to the Celtic lineup given his versatility and experience. Shannon native, Aaron Rudd is also to miss Saturday’s final. The winger had been enjoying a strong run of form before hitting the sidelines.
“Eoin O’Brien is out since December, Aaron Rudd is the same, they are definitely ruled out. We’re fine other than that, we’ve one or two niggles apart from that which Martin the physio is dealing with but we’re good to go,” Newmarket Celtic manager, Mark O’Malley told The Clare Echo.
