CORK FOOTBALLER BRIAN Hurley has received a boost with the news that the hamstring injury he suffered in Sunday’s league tie against Armagh is not a recurrence of the severe problem that has required him to previously undergo two major operations.

The 26-year-old scored two early goals from play in Sunday afternoon’s match in the Athletic Grounds before being forced off in the 48th minute. Cork defeated Armagh 3-9 to 1-14 but ultimately suffered relegation to Division 3 due to Clare’s win over Tipperary.

There were concerns for Hurley after his history of hamstring problems but a scan has revealed that the Castlehaven forward has not suffered an injury to the tendon that he has undergone surgery on before. Instead Hurley sustained a tear elsewhere on his hamstring that is not expected to see him sidelined for more than a month.

The results of the scan are a relief to a player who has undergone his injury woes. The luckless Hurley ripped his hamstring off the bone during a Cork senior training session in June 2016 before a recurrence of the severe injury occurred in March 2017 when in action in a league game for his club Castlehaven.

He returned to action for Cork last summer, scoring a point off the bench in their Munster semi-final win over Tipperary, and then featured in this spring’s league campaign for Cork.

After their league relegation, Cork will embark on their championship campaign on 1 June with a semi-final tie against Tipperary or Limerick, a game that Hurley will be able to target after this latest injury prognosis.

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