Galway welcome back Cullinane

TEAM NEWS:GALWAY WILL use Sunday's dress rehearsal for the Allianz National Hurling League final to welcome back defender Adrian Cullinane, who hasn't started for the county since suffering a cruciate knee injury in the championship win over Clare last summer.

Galway play Cork at Pearse Stadium in the final round – two weeks before they’ll meet in the league final on May 2nd.

Cullinane comes into a completely different starting 15 from that which defeated Dublin last time out. Six Portumna players, Eugene McEntee, Ollie Canning, Eoin Lynch, Kevin Hayes, Andy Smith and Niall Hayes, will also start on Sunday, although Joe Canning is rested.

And also drafted in for a first league start this year will be Mullagh’s Finian Coone, who skippered NUIG to Fitzgibbon Cup glory last month.

Galway, however, will be without half-forwards Eamonn Ryan and Cyril Donnellan. Ryan fractured a wrist in the win over Dublin, while Donnellan misses out after being sent off against Dublin, his suspension ending a day before the final next month, thus making him eligible to play. Regular goalkeeper James Skehill also returns after sustaining a head injury in last month’s win over Kilkenny at Nowlan Park

Cork, meanwhile, will be without dual star Eoin Cadogan, who will be sidelined for up to 12 weeks after sustaining a stress fracture in his foot.

The Douglas man will now definitely miss out on both of his county’s league finals in the coming weeks, and is also likely to be a doubt for Cork when they embark on the Munster championship in both codes in June.

GALWAY (SH v Cork): J Skehill; P Holland, E McEntee, O Canning; J Lee, C Dervan, A Cullinane; E Lynch, N Cahalan; A Callanan, K Hayes, A Smith; N Hayes, F Coone, N Healy.