Injuries force Kilkenny to make changes

ALL-IRELAND champions Kilkenny have named the team for the first defence of their Leinster title, tomorrow evening in a historic meeting with Galway in the westerners’ first season in the province. It shows four changes from the team that devastated Waterford in last September’s All-Ireland final. All of the missing players are injured.

Full back, centre back and both centrefield positions are affected with Noel Hickey, Brian Hogan, James Fitzpatrick and Derek Lyng all unavailable. Into their places come John Dalton, in a switch with JJ Delaney, John Tennyson, Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice.

Galway name an unchanged side for the match in Tullamore. Joe Canning has been given the all-clear to start although he continues to battle a groin strain, which has been exacerbated by intensified training on hard ground. The Portumna strike forward has, however, satisfied manager John McIntyre that he is capable of playing in such a demanding match.

It is the first time in two years the counties have met in championship. In 2007 under manager Ger Loughnane, Galway pushed Kilkenny closely for the first hour before running out of steam in the final 10 minutes.

Despite that creditable display only six players survive on the Galway team named last night: goalkeeper Colm Callanan, corner back Fergal Moore, centre back John Lee, full back Shane Kavanagh and corner forwards Damien Hayes and Niall Healy.

Moore is named at wing back but likely to start in the corner, as he did the last day against Laois when Galway won by 27 points.

Meanwhile, Munster champions Tipperary have made one change to the side to face Clare in a rerun of last year’s provincial final in the Gaelic Grounds, Limerick, on Sunday.

Pat Kerwick, who replaced Micheál Webster for the final quarter of the win over Cork, replaces the full forward from the start but will start at wing forward with John O’Brien moving to the edge of the square.

Waterford make two changes for tomorrow’s replay against Limerick in Thurles. The McGrath brothers, Ken because of surgery on a knee injury and Eoin, drop out to be replaced by the veteran Tony Browne and dual player Gary Hurney.

Limerick manager Justin McCarthy has named the same side that drew last weekend’s match. Both James O’Brien and Donie Ryan retain their places in the full forward line, despite having been replaced by David Breen and Donnacha Sheehan but it will be a surprise if the team lines out as selected, given in particular Breen’s impact after coming on during the drawn match.

In football, All-Ireland champions Tyrone will field an unchanged team for Sunday’s Ulster semi-final with Derry at Casement Park. Captain Brian Dooher has recovered from injury but is kept in reserve once again, and likely to make an appearance from the bench, as he did in the quarter-final win over Armagh.

Goalkeeper Pascal McConnell returns to the match-day squad after six months out with a knee injury, while Colm McCullagh is also added to the substitutes, having recovered from a dead leg.

Opponents Derry have delayed selecting their team because of a range of injuries. Enda Muldoon, who scored 1-3 when the counties last met in the championship three years ago, is definitely out, as is the promising James Kielt whose jaw was broken in a club match. Brian Mullins and Fergal Doherty are suspended after the quarter-final win over Monaghan.

In Connacht, Roscommon replace the injured David Keenan with the experienced David Casey at wing back for tomorrow evening’s provincial semi-final against Mayo in Castlebar.

Monaghan’s Tommy Freeman has successfully appealed to the GAA’s Central Appeals Committee his suspension for head -butting in the Ulster championship defeat by Derry.

But the CAC has referred the matter back to the Central Hearings Committee for rehearing so the former All Star is not yet out of the woods for the county’s opening qualifier next month.