Advertisement
Connors and Dan Shanahan celebrate after beating Dublin: the defender is confident he'll be fit to face Kilkenny. Morgan Treacy/INPHO
Season on Ice

Waterford star turns to cryotherapy in a bid to be fit for All-Ireland semis

Noel Connors expects to be ready to face Kilkenny on 9 August.

WATERFORD CORNER BACK Noel Connors is confident that he will be fit for the Déise’s All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final against Kilkenny on Sunday week, 9 August.

The Passage star was forced off with a dead leg in the first half of Sunday’s quarter-final victory over Dublin.

And former Allstar Connors has already moved to ensure that he will be recovered in time for the Croke Park date with the Cats.

When he arrived home on Sunday night, Connors went for a dip in the sea and yesterday he visited Whites Hotel in Wexford for cryotherapy treatment in an attempt to speed up the healing process.

Connors confirmed: “I was in the sea on Sunday night, straight away after we got home. I went to the sea the minute we got off the bus.

“I was meant to be studying (yesterday) but I put my studies on the back burner.

I had the laptop in front of me doing a bit in between bouts of cryotherapy.

“Having the laptop with me gave me the chance to get some stuff done.”

Connors revealed that he sustained the injury following a collision with Dublin’s Mark Schutte, and realised straight away that he was in trouble.

The 25-year-old said: “It could take two weeks, it could take two days – it’s impossible to say with a dead leg.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to be. It’s the sorest one I ever got, by far.

“I could barely walk on the field. It happened early on but I stayed on to see if it would work its way out but I had no power in it.

“I knew straight away that I was under pressure.

At least you’d know with a broken bone or a hamstring, you’d have some indication but with this, it’s hard to know. I could wake up in the morning and it might be perfectly fine.

“I’ll play away though, there’s no fear of that. At this point in time, there’s no reason why I wouldn’t be involved on Sunday week, unless it’s the same way in two weeks time.”

And Connors expressed satisfaction with Waterford’s win, coming as it did after the team’s first defeat in League or championship in 2015.

Waterford were still competitive in the Munster final loss at the hands of Tipperary and he said: “We needed a win after Tipperary. That was the first match we were beaten in this year and it maybe wasn’t a bad thing to experience that bit of hurt.”

‘I thought I’d never see Semple Stadium again as a player, I thought I’d never see Croke Park’

‘By God, we’re going to be in for one hell of a battle in two weeks time’

Your Voice
Readers Comments
2
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.