Waterford will be without 'Hurler of the Year' Dan Shanahan for their championship opener against Clare after he injured his knee in a club game at the weekend.
The silver lining for Deise supporters is that the injury he picked up playing Mount Sion in the Waterford senior hurling club championship, is not as bad as first feared and requires only rest ahead of the Clare game on June 1st.
The Lismore clubman joins Eoin Murphy, Eoin Kelly and Paul Flynn on sidelines for the game.
Tony Browne could also miss out if he is suspended after being dismissed in a recent club game.
Meanwhile, a knee injury also looks likely to keep Offaly's Rory Hanniffy's out of the Leinster championship opener against Laois on May 25th.
The former captain was hoping to concentrate fully on his hurling after giving the armband to Kevin Brady but recent knee surgery may delay his participation.
"It's been a long year and I've been suffering the effect of wear and tear," said Hanniffy today. "It's up in the air at the moment but it's looking unlikely that I'll be fit in time for Laois."