TIPPERARY SHARPSHOOTER SEAMUS Callanan has been ruled out of Sunday’s Allianz Hurling League Division 1 final against Galway.
Tipp FM reported last night that Callanan suffered a broken thumb last weekend’s semi-final win over Wexford in Nowlan Park.
Premier boss Michael Ryan confirmed that Callanan will miss the final, but said it will give another player the opportunity to impress.
“We have an important match next weekend and he is not going to be available so, yeah, he is frustrated,” Ryan told The Tipperary Star. “But I am fully aware that when you play a game you run that risk and we run the same risk every night in training.
“This is exactly what the panel is for. We have had surgery on the panel – the panel is back down to 35. There really is intense competition in the panel and this is going to create an opportunity – somebody is going to benefit from it. It is unfortunate, but it creates an opportunity – somebody is going to start instead of him.
“Seamie is a starter and we can take that as read, but someone is going to get a jersey now that they may or may not have been expecting. This really creates an opportunity for someone.”
The Drom-Inch forward scored 0-3 against Davy Fitzgerald’s side during the 5-18 to 1-19 victory. Remarkably, Tipperary were awarded just three frees in the entire 70 minutes.
Callanan played the full game but appeared to be nursing his hand afterwards.
Ryan said he expects Callanan to be on the sidelines for “three to four weeks.” The Tipp manager is hopeful his talisman will recover fully in time for their Munster SHC quarter-final against Cork on 21 May.
