Family loyalty is believed to be behind the decision by the Donnellan brothers to make themselves unavailable for the Galway senior footballers' defence of the Connacht football crown against Leitrim on Sunday.
It is believed that when manager John O'Mahony expressed the intention to leave John on the sidelines for the game at Tuam on Sunday, Michael opted out, said a source close to football circles in the county.
The exclusion of the Dunmore duo was met with shock among the footballing fraternity, given that Michael, one of the top footballers in the country, played an outstanding role for Galway in their league campaign, which ended in a defeat at the hands of Mayo in the final two-and-a-half weeks ago.
After missing out on Galway's All-Ireland glory in 1998 through a serious knee injury, John has also impressed in the league campaign this year and was poised to be in contention for a place in the Galway forward division in the championship.
Michael's midfield berth will be filled by Carraroe's Seán Ó Domhnaill, and intercounty hurler Alan Kerins, who has been training with John O'Mahony's side of late, will line out at left full-forward in place of John.
If Michael, in particular, remains out of the Galway team for the year, it will seriously damage the county's preparations to go one step further than last year, when they were defeated by Kerry in the All-Ireland final replay.
Galway Starting XV: P Lally, T Meehan, K Fitzgerald, T Mannion, D Meehan, J Divilly, S De Paor, J Bergin, S O Domhnaill, J Fallon, K Comer, L Colleran, AN Other, P Joyce, A Kerins.