Walter Walsh facing fitness battle ahead of Limerick tie
Monday 9 July 2018 08:08, UK
Kilkenny lost an enthralling Leinster SHC final replay to Galway, and now must play for the third week in succession as Limerick lie in wait.
As learned by many counties already this season, playing three weeks on the bounce can be a gruelling process, and given the heatwave and player fatigue, the Cats have a huge task on their hands to regroup in time for the showdown with the Treaty.
It will not get any easier with the news Walter Walsh could miss the tie. The giant full-forward was substituted after 17 minutes in Semple Stadium on Sunday, and Brian Cody revealed after the game he suffered an injury.
Cody said: "He pulled his groin very very early. Just after five minutes, he was labouring and he was in trouble. And he already had won a couple of great high balls and that. But look it a pulled groin now obviously he's under major pressure for next weekend. If he's available, he's available. If he's not, he's not. And that's the reality of it."
The loss of Walsh would come as a major blow, but major positives for the Cats were the contributions of Richie Hogan and Colin Fennelly off the bench, who bagged 1-01 apiece.
Having started the season slowly due to the late start, the two senior members of the squad are getting into their stride, and Cody was pleased with their contributions, and says they are ready to play a full game if needed.
He said: "I think they're ready to play absolutely. It's a question of seeing how they recover after today and that. They're after putting in a huge amount of work to get to this level and we'll be looking at every possibility and every option.
"Of course they [made a difference] but that's their quality like. What you'd expect. I mean lots of players. I don't want to make the second half about one, two or three players. It was about everybody. We would have been blown away if the response hadn't been magnificent all over the field and I felt it was."
The Cats now must lick their wounds ahead of a quick turnaround to face Limerick for a spot in the All-Ireland semi-final.
