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Limerick's John Galvin INPHO/Cathal Noonan
Injuries

Limerick stars Galvin and Ryan face race to be fit for Cork championship clash

Limerick’s Division 4 league final win last night was overshadowed by late injuries to key players.

LIMERICK STARS JOHN Galvin and Ian Ryan face a race to be fit for their Munster championship clash with Cork on May 25th.

The pair featured in Limerick’s 0-16 to 1-11 Division 4 league final win over Offaly last night in Croke Park.

Inspirational midfielder Galvin started a competitive game for his county for the first time since suffering two cruciate injuries while Ryan struck 0-5 in their victory.

But in the finale Galvin limped off with a hamstring injury and Ryan damaged ankle ligaments. Galvin revealed afterwards that he was glad his knee had held up as he seeks to improve his match fitness.

“I just pulled my hamstring but It’s great that my knee held up. I’m delighted to get through a game and hopefully in four weeks time, I’ll be alright with the hamstring.

“It was tough going out there. I’m definitely not up to match fitness and my sharpness would have been a bit off. Croke Park is probably one of the hardest fields in the country and that’s where it will test you.

Manager Maurice Horan admitted they will have wait to assess extent of the injuries with their clash with the Rebels only four weeks away.

“Any hamstring is a minimum of two weeks to get it right and it could be four. We’ll have to see how it is but we won’t know for another 48 hours. John just strained it when he was kicking the ball.

“I don’t think it’s serious then in the long-term compared to the injuries he’s had but for the Cork match it could be serious.

“He’d no proper game in two years so it was going to take a while to get used to that intensity. It was great to have him back though as he puts a whole different shape on the team.

“For Ian Ryan then it was the ankle, it doesn’t need an x-ray but he just damaged the ligaments. It’s going to be 2-3 weeks at least. It’s tender to touch at the moment but like any muscular injury, we won’t know for another couple of days.”

Limerick were without the experienced trio of Ger Collins, Stephen Kelly and Jim O’Donovan for yesterday’s game. Collins will be available for the Cork match as he only missed out due to tonsillitis. Kelly is currently recovering from a minor knee operation and could be available while O’Donovan is studying for exams for a Masters in Dublin.

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