GAELIC GAMES:WATERFORD hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald has said he is unsure about Eoin Murphy's intercounty future. Murphy, an All Star defender in 2006, suffered a fractured skull in a club match playing for Shamrocks against an Abbeyside second team at Cappoquin last Friday night.

With Murphy knocked unconscious for 10 minutes, referee John Condon called the game off, with eight minutes to play. Murphy, who had regained consciousness but was in obvious distress, was rushed to Waterford Regional Hospital and transferred over the weekend to Cork University Hospital, where he is making steady progress.

Fitzgerald explained: “It wasn’t a bad belt of a hurley or anything like that. It was a collision of bodies. It would be very unusual what happened. Pat Bennett, one of the (Waterford) selectors, was there and he said it was a very frightening thing. There wasn’t a budge out of him for 10 minutes.”

Murphy suffered some bleeding from the brain but latest indications are he will not require surgery. Fitzgerald said the number one priority was naturally the health of Murphy, and he doesn’t know if the player will return to hurling this year.

“I don’t know and I won’t know until I talk to him. I’m not going to push him one bit. The most important thing about this is that he is safe, for himself and for his family. That’s number one and hurling is a very poor second. I just want to talk to Eoin myself and make sure everything’s alright.”