HENRY SHEFFLIN IS set for another long spell in the rehab room after learning that he will need surgery on a foot injury.
Scans revealed that the nine-time All-Ireland winner broke a bone and damaged ligaments in his left foot during Ballyhale Shamrocks’ Leinster Club SHC defeat to Oulart-the-Ballagh earlier this month.
In what is becoming a familiar routine for the 33-year-old, who has bounced back from off-season injuries four times in the last five years, Shefflin is expected to be out of action until March at the earliest.
The blow is likely to rule him out of Kilkenny’s National Hurling League campaign, though it was widely expected that he would take a break in the spring in order to stay fresh for the Championship.
There had been some speculation that Shefflin’s bad run of injury luck might lead to his retirement, but along with Cats team-mate Noel Hickey, the 11-time All-Star confirmed last week that he will return in 2013 as he bids to add to his record All-Ireland medal haul.
