Injured Burke is ruled out of big clash with Cats

GALWAY centre-half forward Niall Burke will miss the Tribesmen’s National Hurling League semi-final against Kilkenny at Semple Stadium, Thurles on Sunday (3:45pm).

The Oranmore/Maree sharpshooter has had to undergo an operation on a calf injury ruling him out for this mouth-watering rematch between the 2012 All-Ireland finalists.

But Galway boss Anthony Cunningham is hopeful Burke can make a successful return to action in the coming weeks. “Niall Burke had an operation on a calf injury so he is only coming back and is hoping to do some light jogging towards the end of the week,” outlined Cunningham.

“If we get over Sunday, we would expect him back for the league final. So, we would hope to have him back sooner rather than later. It is only a short term injury.”

Although Burke has been, by and large, in and out of the team due to college commitments as of late, there is no denying his quality as was evident in last year’s All-Ireland final drawn game when he tallied 1-2, including a crucial second half goal.

While Burke should make his return in the next couple of weeks, the wait will be somewhat longer for Craughwell’s Niall Healy, who, having had surgery on a thrown bicep, could be out anything between two to four months.

Healy netted a great goal in Galway’s 3-11 to 0-17 victory over Kilkenny in their opening National League group game in late February but sustained his injury in a training game with the Galway squad last month. “It is unfortunate for Niall and it now looks as if he will be out for a while,” sympathises Cunningham.

On a more positive note, Clarinbridge’s Barry Daly is on the road to recovery following a knee cartilage injury and Cunningham expects the versatile stickman to be back in the frame for Galway’s Leinster championship semi-final on the weekend of June 15-16.

In any event, the Tribesmen’s immediate focus is Sunday’s NHL semi-final showdown against the Cats and Cunningham is pleased with the manner in which his charges are approaching the game. “Training has been going well. We have been training hard and, really, this is what these players want and where they want to be.

“They want to be playing these sort of matches. It is important to be playing the top teams in the top competitions and gone are the days when teams can take the league handy. With the new structure, that is gone now effectively and every team is out to do well. So, the standards and fitness levels have been set high and you have to meet those if you are going to do well.”

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.