KILKENNY HAVE INSISTED that Eoin Larkin will feature in Kilkenny’s All-Ireland senior hurling final clash with Galway on Sunday week, 6 September.

It is understood that the James Stephens clubman sustained a hand injury during the course of a weekend training camp at Fota Island.

There are unconfirmed reports that Larkin, 31, suffered a broken thumb but county board PRO Seamus Reade told The42 this afternoon that he expects the seven-time All-Ireland medallist to line out against the Tribesmen.

“He will be ok for the final,” Reade insisted.

“He had a bit of an injury alright but it’s not as bad as first feared, that’s what I’ve been told.”

When asked if Larkin has broken his thumb, Reade replied: “I haven’t heard that. All I know is that I’ve been informed that he will be ok for the final.”

Eoin Larkin will be fit for Kilkenny's All-Ireland hurling final, a county board official has insisted. Source: James Crombie/INPHO

Another James Stephens clubman, Jackie Tyrrell, is unlikely to be fit in time after undergoing ankle surgery recently and potentially losing Larkin would have represented a significant blow to Kilkenny’s hopes.

But this positive injury bulletin on hard-working forward Larkin is a major boost to Kilkenny as they go in search of a second successive All-Ireland senior crown.

Boss Brian Cody will deliver a fresh update on Larkin’s injury at a press event in the city on Tuesday.

‘It was probably the most negative game I have ever seen, it wasn’t a great spectacle’

‘There’s a lot of people in the media who try to tarnish the victories that we got’