GAELIC GAMES:CARLOW MIDFIELDER and International Rules star Brendan Murphy is out for the foreseeable future after tearing ankle ligaments in Sunday's NFL Division Four tie against Fermanagh.

Murphy was immediately taken to hospital after going over on his ankle just before half-time where an X-ray showed he’d suffered soft-tissue damage rather than a broken bone.

“He’s out for a significant period of time anyway,” confirmed Carlow manager Luke Dempsey yesterday. “We’re not sure just how badly the ligament is torn yet, but I’d imagine he’d be out for at least six weeks, which is a big loss for us.

“At least the bone isn’t broken, but it’s still a serious injury and hits us hard because we can ill-afford to do without a player of Murphy’s quality. We lost Daniel St Ledger the previous weekend to a very harsh red-card that’ll keep him sidelined for a month, so this is the second harsh blow we’ve been dealt in successive weeks.

“It’s a tough month for us because we’ve already played Wicklow and Fermanagh and now we’re playing Roscommon and Clare who are both in good form next. That’s four matches in four weekends which is your league already half-over in a very short period of time.”