THERE WAS A familiar face back at training for the Kilkenny hurlers over the weekend.
It’s just under two months since Brian Cody took a step back from the Cats set-up to undergo pre-planned heart surgery. But the legendary hurling boss was back involved as Kilkenny gear up for this season’s championship campaign.
“We didn’t know to be honest,” admitted Kilkenny star Michael Fennelly. “It was a nice surprise but things go on as normal. Brian is back but Martin and Mick have held the fort well over the last few months.
“It’s great to see him back. His health is key and whenever he felt right he was going to come back. I think the players are mature enough to get on with things too. He just slipped back in and that was it. He looked fine.”
Fennelly was not able to witness Cody’s involvement on the training field as he is currently in rehabilitation mode. The Ballyhale Shamrocks clubman is set to miss Kilkenny’s Leinster opener against Offaly after injuring his left ankle in a recent club league game. Fennelly has had previous ankle problems after incurring an injury last year to his right ankle against Cork in the league final that sidelined him for three months.
“It’s still very tender but I’m just back putting weight on it this last few days. It will probably be three to four weeks hopefully. But it’s hard to know with the ankle because if you work with it, it could just flare up so you have to be patient.
“It was a worry because I went over on it in a similar way. Thankfully it’s not as bad as that because the ligament on the outside is not as big as the one on the inside. I got an X-ray that night (last Friday week) and there was no sign of a break. Everyone thought there was a break because the swelling was so bad. I iced it for a few days and it will hopefully be a three or four weeks.”
Retired
One player who definitely will not be involved in the Kilkenny squad is defender John Tennyson who has called time on his inter-county career.
“Yeah John hung up the boots last week,” says Fennelly. “I only heard that myself there maybe two days ago. He has been crippled with injuries. He did his cruciate twice. He is 28 years of age and is seven or eight years on the panel.
“He didn’t get a run in the League unfortunately. Maybe he feels he wasn’t adding anything to the team or to the panel. Again, you could see him back in year or two time if he gets injury-free.”
