THERE WAS A positive end to a forgettable weekend for the Tipperary hurlers last night with confirmation that All-Star corner-back Cathal Barrett has avoided cruciate knee ligament damage.
Barrett, 23, went down in agony and clutching his left knee after contesting an aerial ball with Cork sub Luke O’Farrell in the 62nd minute of Sunday’s defeat to the Rebels.
He was replaced by Alan Flynn soon after but, while a stretcher had been called for, Barrett was able to walk gingerly off the pitch.
His left leg was immediately placed in a protective brace and while Tipp feared the worst, the outlook is far better than had been expected.
The Holycross-Ballycahill clubman was scanned yesterday and although a cruciate injury has been ruled out, he’s still facing up to six weeks out.
Barrett is a doubt for Tipperary’s first qualifier game on the first weekend in July but, providing the Premier County safely vault that first hurdle, he should be fully fit for the remainder of the season.
Provided there are no further injury setbacks for Tipp, manager Michael Ryan should be picking from almost a full deck for the team’s next outing.
Donagh Maher, Michael Cahill and Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher all missed the Cork game with hamstring problems — but will have recovered in time for their first qualifier game.
That game might come too soon for Barrett but he’ll be thankful that his knee injury isn’t a season-ending one.
