TIPPERARY STAR COLIN O’Riordan will discover later today if he has a chance of playing against Kerry in the Munster SFC semi-final on Sunday week, 14 June.
The hip injury that forced O’Riordan off against Waterford last Sunday has been scanned and team doctor John Hynes will discuss the results with the 19-year-old this evening.
Tipp manager Peter Creedon explained last night: “He’s meeting Doc Hynes tomorrow so we’ll have a clearer picture.
“Please God he will recover in time for Sunday week but it will all depend on the reading of his scans.
It’s something pinching on his hip. We need to see if there’s something in there.
“Touch wood it won’t be anything too serious but we genuinely won’t know until tomorrow evening.”
Tipp corner back Ciaran McDonald, who represented Ireland in last year’s International Rules test in Australia, is only just back in action after a hip injury ruled him out of the Premier County’s entire Allianz League campaign.
And long-serving forward Brian Mulvihill underwent procedures on both hips to prolong his intercounty career.
Creedon explained: “Whatever they do, they scrape out whatever grit is there, it seems to be becoming quite a common injury now but please God, Colin’s won’t be too bad.
“He’s only 19 but he has a lot of mileage on the clock already.”
O’Riordan captained Tipperary’s U21 footballers to Munster glory this year and he’s also a former dual All-Ireland minor medallist.
In his debut season with the senior footballers in 2014, a string of impressive displays saw O’Riordan nominated for an Allstar award.
Ironically, Creedon was ready to substitute O’Riordan before he aggravated his hip, a setback that saw the JK Brackens man hobble off in the 42nd minute of the 22-point rout of the Déise.
Creedon said: “We contemplated taking him off at half-time and we said we’d give (him) five minutes. The slip was written and ready to go but he went down at that stage.”
Creedon is hopeful that Tipp will be boosted by the return of defender Jimmy Feehan later this week.
U21 full-back Feehan will have a hand injury x-rayed today and if that comes back all clear, the Killenaule clubman will return to senior training tomorrow evening.
Feehan won a Freshers All-Ireland medal with UCD this year and is a survivor from Tipp’s 2011 All-Ireland minor winning squad.
Creedon added: “Jimmy was playing really well, he’ll be another addition back to us.”
