Representatives from the Cork County Board met a player group last night in an attempt to end the strike called in November after club delegates voted in support of imposing selectors on the county manager.
No announcement followed the meeting, so the hurlers' opening Waterford Crystal Cup fixture against Limerick IT at Páirc Uí Rinn on January 10th remains under threat.
The Munster Council have said there will be no long-term repercussions should the county fail to fulfil this fixture. If, however, players are selected and opt not to play, then they could be suspended.
Meanwhile, Barry Cahill is Dublin manager Paul Caffrey's major concern ahead of tomorrow evening's opening O'Byrne Cup match against Wicklow in Parnell Park after the All Star wing back injured a knee in last week's Dubs Stars fixture.
Mickey Harte has announced a revamped Tyrone team for their opening McKenna Cup tie against UUJ at Omagh this Sunday. There are seven debutants and just two All-Ireland-winning forwards in Owen Mulligan and Enda McGinley
The 2003 and 2005 All-Ireland champions have been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, and Harte has decided to blood several young players. County champions Dromore provide three: defenders Fabian O'Neill and Cathal McCarron and full forward Shaun O'Neill.
Gary Reilly, Kevin McNally, Dominic Hands and Martin Swift also make their intercounty bow, while Eglish's Conall Martin returns to the panel for the first time since a brief spell in 1999.
Armagh's new manager, Peter McDonnell, has recalled Aidan O'Rourke to the county colours. The Queen's University manager has not featured at intercounty level since 2006, but could line out against Derry this weekend as Queen's are in a different group.
There is no rule barring a player who manages another team in the same competition.
Ronan Clarke and Brian Mallon are also set to return after long-term knee injuries, while captain and midfielder Paul McGrane makes an early return as cover for the injured Malachy Mackin and Philip Loughran.
Derry defender Niall McCusker keeps the Lazarus theme alive as he is also expected to make a first start since March 2005, having recovered from a persistent back problem.
McCusker provides ideal cover for injured All-Star fullback Kevin McCloy and Sean Marty Lockhart, who both have finger problems that require surgery.
Longford boss Luke Dempsey wants the Leinster Council to ban third level colleges from playing in the O'Byrne Cup.
Dempsey said small counties needed all their players, and, with a ban on pre-Christmas challenge games, there was no opportunity to prepare as a team for the national league.
Longford will open their O'Byrne Cup campaign when they take on Kildare at Newbridge on Sunday.
"County managers who have had no test for new players would prefer to try them out against other county teams rather than a college team that has a scattering of intercounty players from different counties," he said.
TYRONE SF (McKenna Cup v UUJ): J Devine; F O'Neill, C McCarron, M Swift; D Harte, C Gourley, D Carlin; C Martin, T McGuigan; D Hands, O Mulligan, G Reilly; K McNally, S O'Neill, E McGinley.
