*Clare’s Tony Kelly. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
TONY Kelly sustained a setback in Clare training prior to Sunday’s win over Cork which ruled him out of the matchday squad.
Prior to Christmas, Kelly underwent an operation on his ankle, missing out on the entire Allianz National Hurling League. He was introduced as a substitute when Clare were leading Limerick 1-15 0-11 but they ended up losing to the All-Ireland champions by three points.
He was expected to fight his way into the starting fifteen for the second round with Cork but these plans were dealt a blow when the Ballyea man did damage to his ankle in training.
A break until Clare’s next outing on May 19th at home to Waterford will help the four-time All Star who did not do major damage to his recovery last week. The 2013 Hurler of the Year is expected to be fit enough to make the panel for the visit of the Déise.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Clare selector Ken Ralph admitted that the losses of Tony Kelly and midfielder Darragh Lohan both of whom had been named in the matchday panel were blows. “We really missed Darragh Lohan last week when he had to go off, he has been playing really really well this year. Of course the injuries were a worry.
“Obviously when Tony (Kelly) is out it’s always a worry, it was a bit of a downer when he got a bit of a setback in training during the week. Again that was for the whole panel to absorb and deal with. After last week you might be thinking, mentally fragile, but they dealt with everything, and really met it head on this week. You have to be proud of them. Tony was almost there and hopefully he will be back shortly,” he said.
