WEXFORD MANAGER AIDAN O’Brien has confirmed that key attacker Ciaran Lyng is likely to miss their Division 2 league campaign.
The Model County’s footballers saw their O’Byrne Cup involvement end last Sunday after their third group stage defeat against Kildare.
They now step up their preparations for the league which begins on Sunday February 3rd with a home tie against Longford.
Wexford were promoted alongside Glenn Ryan’s side last year from Division 3 but suffered defeat to them in the league decider in Croke Park last April.
Their hopes of thriving in the division have been dealt a setback due to the absence of Lyng with a hip problem.
“Ciaran Lyng is out for the long-term,” confirmed O’Brien. “I think it’ll be for the league. He is being treated for a hip tendon injury.”
Lyng had been hampered by the problem during last year’s league and championship. He notably missed Wexford’s Leinster quarter-final replay win over Longford last June and was forced off during their provincial semi-final defeat to Dublin in July.
Lyng accepted an invitation last November from Wexford hurling boss Liam Dunne to link up with his panel which already features his brother Diarmuid. But his hopes of attempting to fulfil a dual role this spring have been dashed by this injury.
If Lyng does ultimately miss all of Wexford’s league encounters, he will be targeting a return for their Leinster championship quarter-final on June 9th against the winners of the first round game between Laois and Louth.
In better news for O’Brien, he will be able to welcome back sharpshooter Ben Brosnan for the league after he has been tied up with commitments to Carlow IT in the O’Byrne Cup to date while Adrian Flynn only missed out on last Sunday’s loss to Kildare due to a vomiting bug.
