The Cork hurling management have moved to allay fears about the fitness of Damien Cahalane ahead of Sunday's Munster final against champions Limerick.
Cahalane cut his foot in the Páirc Uí Chaoimh dressingroom after last Sunday’s comprehensive defeat to Kerry in the provincial football decider but the wound is not expected to hinder his switch across the sporting codes.
Cahalane, along with Aidan Walsh and Eoin Cadogan, have reinvigorated the dual role for Cork this season with all three expected to feature this weekend.
Cadogan, however, will most likely start on the bench as Jimmy Barry Murphy is expected to make minimal or no changes from the side that beat All-Ireland champions Clare on June 15th. Despite starting consistently for the footballers, the 27-year-old has had to be satisfied with an impact role off the bench for the hurlers.
He replaced Mark Ellis on 67 minutes against Clare, when Ellis sustained damage to his medial knee ligament. This has been cleared by the Cork medics and he resumed training last night but a doubt remains abut his ability to line out in Cork's half back line.
Second chance
Cadogan’ s other chance of joining younger brother, Alan, in Barry-Murphy’s starting line-up would be in place of
Daniel Kearney
, who
William Egan
replaced in the semi-final.
The Cork side will be released tomorrow night. Cahalane has been lining out at corner back with Walsh in midfield.
All three dual players featured for the entirety of last weekend’s 0-24 to 0-12 defeat to Kerry with Barry-Murphy this week noting the conditioning of both squads is similar.
“I don’t think it’s accurate to say footballers are fitter or stronger. I think hurlers are as conditioned as footballers nowadays,” said the hurling manager. “The dual players we have are big men anyway, and would be strong men, but in general with our team we’d be very happy with their conditioning overall.
“They’re in great shape and would match up to other teams, teams that I’m sure are doing the same levels of work. We’re very confident they’ll still be going strong in the last quarter.”
