Limerick hurlers hope for respite from injuries as they prepare to go again

Even with another All-Ireland medal tucked away, Cian Lynch will be content to shut the door on 2022.

A season that started with a red card dismissal in the Fitzgibbon Cup final – that was later rescinded – then lurched along from one injury crisis to another, ending with the reigning Hurler of the Year missing July’s All-Ireland final.

He wore a protective boot that day, having, in his own words, damaged “ligaments down around the fibula and tibia” the previous weekend. He’d only just recovered from a hamstring lay-off. The operating table was the next stop.

Limerick are back training now and Lynch is involved again but it’s early days yet and, speaking at the launch of the 2023 Co-Op Superstores Munster Hurling League, selector Donal O’Grady declined to put an exact date on Lynch’s comeback.

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“He had a bit of soreness up to a couple of weeks ago but has come back doing a bit of training with us, doing a bit of running, nothing too intensive or match-based or anything like that,” reported O’Grady. “The signs are positive that we will hopefully have him back early on in the season.”

Which could mean the start of the National Hurling League.

[ ‘He sees the full picture’: The serene leadership of Cian Lynch ]

“That would be great,” nodded O’Grady, referencing how Lynch, who came on in the All-Ireland semi-final win over Galway, has precious little hurling under his belt since last April.

“Obviously he has done nothing really since the Waterford game last season in the Gaelic Grounds where he did that serious hamstring injury. He missed all his club championship. Fitness wise, we’ll see how he is but definitely as far as getting a heavy workload into him, he is getting there and nearly ready for that.”

John Kiely spoke at length about the taxing nature of the campaign immediately after beating Kilkenny in the final, referencing how the Lynch ankle injury the weekend before had been one of a litany of serious challenges.

“It was like someone just popped a balloon,” agreed O’Grady, looking back. “And that was for every single guy that was fighting for Cian’s position, because he is such an integral part of the whole thing.

“But there has always been that mantra in the set-up of, ‘Next man up’. They have all delivered when they have been asked to and we are lucky enough that we have guys that can come on or start.”

Lynch’s colleague, defender Mike Casey, made it back to the first team following his own injury issues, a cruciate problem costing him two Championships. There was a scare for the Na Piarsaigh man more recently when, on club duty, he suspected a repeat of the injury though it turned out to be not as bad as initially feared.

“It didn’t look good when it happened,” said O’Grady. “But he got good news in the sense that it wasn’t the cruciate again. I think there’s a bit of cartilage damage so he’s going to be out for the early part of the season anyway.

“If he can come back from a cruciate the way he did ... like, the first night back with us last season he had a relapse, without tearing it again, and then to finish the season in the All-Ireland final, it was just a testament to the way he came back.

“He’s very driven, there’d be no problem that way, he just needs a bit of luck. But there’ll be fear of him doing his rehab, he’s a top guy. Peter, his brother, the same. I don’t know what it is with the Caseys, they’ve had a tough time but they’ve responded great. Peter finished out the club season with Na Piarsaigh. If we can get those two boys fit for the middle of the year, we’ll be in a good place.”

Given that the cost of preparing Limerick teams for 2022 was in the region of €2.3m, there will be no expense spared on the players.

“Are we doing anything that other teams aren’t, as far as financially? I would say we’re doing the exact same,” claimed O’Grady, who maintained that there is no “blank chequebook thrown at the senior hurling team”.

“As a management team, we can ask for X, Y and Z but there’s plenty of things we’ve asked for and they’ve said, ‘No, not this time lads’. And that’s understandable.”