Devenney ruled out

Gaelic Games News: Ballina have accepted they'll play their All-Ireland club football final without star defender Enda Devenney.

Manager Tommy Lyons last night finalised his team for Thursday's trip to Croke Park, and it doesn't include the Connacht footballer of the year.

Devenney suffered medial damage to his knee in a challenge match against the Dublin under-21s earlier this month, and his lay-off will extend well beyond Thursday.

In a kind twist of fate, though, the injury has partly cleared the way for his brother James to play, as he replaces a second injured player, Kenny Golden, at right corner back.

Enda Devenney's place in the half back line goes to Shane Melia, who made a brief appearance in the Connacht final win over Killererin. Otherwise, the team is the same as beat Kilmurry-Ibrickane in the All-Ireland semi-final three weeks ago.

"Playing without those two is undoubtedly a huge blow," Lyons admitted. "For a team to lose two of the backs they've had all year before an All-Ireland final is not easy to get over, not just for a club, but I'd say for any county. They've been two major players for us all along.

"But in no way has it diminished our ambition to go up and try to win the All-Ireland. Beyond those injuries everything has gone to plan since the semi-final. We've had a few good challenge games and I'd like to think we've prepared in the best way we can. Hopefully, it can all fall together for us on the day."

Ballina remain a daunting prospect for Portlaoise, particularly with their midfield pairing of David Brady and Ronan McGarrity. They've also recruited some extra strength on the sideline in the form of John O'Mahony.

On the National League front, meanwhile, Limerick's fortunes in both football and hurling took a considerable turn for the better at the weekend. Football manager Liam Kearns picked up his first points with a spirited win over Galway, and it was announced yesterday that forward Stephen Kelly was returning to the panel after a three-month absence.

Kelly, who is renowned as one of the quickest forwards in the country, didn't feel he could make the commitment at the start of the season, and subsequently made a few appearances on the rugby field with Thomond.

But Kelly was due to train with his former team-mates last night, and could even feature in Limerick's next outing against Kildare on Sunday.

On the hurling front, Sunday's 25-point win over Down was the perfect start for new manager Joe McKenna. Sunday's game against Wexford will be a lot more challenging, but McKenna has already stated he wants to drop the ban on dual players enforced by predecessor Pad Joe Whelahan and is considering calling the likes of Conor Fitzgerald and Stephen Lucy into his panel.

The only downside to that result was the leg injury sustained by TJ Ryan, which is expected to rule him out of action for several weeks.

Elsewhere, the Tipperary football management are sweating over the injury sustained by star forward Declan Browne in Sunday's defeat to Louth. Browne retired after 30 minutes and is feared to be suffering from the recurrence of a groin injury, which may require another period of prolonged rest.

Finally, Laois have indicated they intend to use video evidence to clear full forward Stephen Kelly of the red card received in Sunday's defeat to Kildare. Kelly was sent off for a foul on Kildare's Michael Foley, although Laois are claiming mistaken identity.

BALLINA (SF v Portlaoise): J Healy; J Devenney, M Wynne, C Leonard; B Ruane, S Sweeney, S Melia; R McGarrity, D Brady; P Harte, G Brady, E Casey; P McGarry, L Brady, S Hughes.