CORK MIDIELDER IAN Maguire is set for a spell on the sidelines after fracturing a bone in his hand in a challenge game last weekend, an injury that is set to rule him out of the Munster semi-final against Kerry on 7 May.
Maguire suffered the injury in a game against Clare last Sunday and looks on course to be out for four to six weeks. He is to see Cork-based orthopaedic surgeon David Morrissey over the injury but will be able to avoid getting surgery on it.
His absence would be a major loss for Cork for the game against Jack O’Connor’s Kerry side, a fixture that continues to be surrounded in uncertainty due to the venue controversy.
It remains fixed for Killarney on that May date but the Cork camp’s stance remains that the game should be played in Páirc Uí Rinn and that they are not willing to concede home advantage.
28-year-old Maguire is one of the longest-serving players in the Cork side, making his championship debut in 2014 in a qualifier against Sligo. He captained his club St Finbarr’s to win county and Munster club titles last season.
It is another setback on the injury front for Cork with key players like defender Sean Powter and joint captain Sean Meehan already significant absences for a squad that narrowly avoided Division 2 league relegation with their late March win over Offaly in the last round.
Cork, who are now managed on a temporary basis by John Cleary after Keith Ricken stepped aside due to health reasons, have been boosted by the return of fitness of defender Maurice Shanley, midfielder Paul Walsh and the forward duo of Brian Hayes and Damien Gore, that group seeing game time in last weekend’s challenge.
Shanley started in Cork’s surprise win over Kerry in the Munster semi-final in November 2020, claiming an All-Ireland U20 medal in 2019. Gore was also part of that underage success but has been ruled out since picking up an injury in January’s McGrath Cup final.
Walsh, who also started in that Kerry game two years ago, has missed the league through injury, while Hayes, a Cork U20 dual star in 2021, has been battling hamstring problems since St Finbarr’s club season ended, but did make his competitive senior debut in a league game against Meath in March.
