KILKENNY TALISMAN HENRY Shefflin is this morning looking at six months out of action.
The eight-time All-Ireland winner will undergo surgery on an injury picked up during the Kilkenny county championship.
Though he sustained the shoulder injury in Ballyhale Shamrocks’ semi-final win over O’Loughlin Gaels, Shefflin lined out in both the final and final replay against James Stephens, which they ultimately lost.
Shefflin will now likely miss the Cats’ entire national league campaign.
The news is the second blow to manager Brian Cody over the past few days. Earlier this week, former skipper James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick announced he was retiring from intercounty hurling at the age of just 26 due to a lack of game time.