Injury doubts for Cats ahead of shot at Leinster glory
Kilkenny may be on the verge of winning a 76th Leinster hurling crown and a fifth title on the spin when they meet Dublin in Croke Park on Saturday but Derek Lyng has a couple of big injury worries to deal with.
John Donnelly is top of the list after the Thomastown man picked up a suspected broken thumb in the round-robin victory over Wexford a few weeks ago.
Donnelly played all 70 minutes in that game two weeks ago and if he was to miss out which seems likely at this stage then he would be a huge loss to the Kilkenny cause.
The wing forward is well noted for his workrate around the field but he’s also scored the most from play for the cats in this championship campaign as he notched 0-15 throughout the five games so far.
He only sits second in the overall scoring to TJ Reid and his most impressive display of the year came when scoring seven from play in the win over Dublin last month so his absence would be keenly felt in GAA HQ.
As well as Donnelly, there’s also concern around the fitness of Mikey Carey who is in a race against time to make the game as he rehabilitates from an ankle knock.
The all action defender also played the full game against Wexford but has since being struck down with injury.
It’s been a frustrating 12 months or so for the Young Irelands star after he sat out last year’s championship campaign while also missing Kilkenny’s opening three games with Antrim, Galway and Carlow this term.
There is better news around the fitness of Adrian Mullen who looks set for a first championship appearance since the home opener with Antrim after the management team opted against using him from the bench the last day out.
With the way the last fortnight has transpired, that now looks a sensible call as Kilkenny look to book a direct route to the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Dublin wins over Kilkenny have been very rare with the Leinster semi-final success in 2013 their only win over the Noresiders in the last 80 years but after a closely fought round-robin clash a few weeks ago, confidence will be high in the sky blue ranks.
That Dublin win in 2013 also proved to be the launchpad for their last Leinster championship. Kilkenny have beaten them in two finals since then (2014 and 2021).
Their scoring records have been remarkably similar throughout the round robin stages, with Kilkenny’s final tally of 8-131 just a solitary point ahead of Dublin - the Cats are also five points better off in what they have conceded.
Those statistics and evidence from the last meeting in Parnell Park point to not a lot being between the sides come 8pm on Saturday night but even with some expected losses, it would still be a shock if Kilkenny don’t come out on top as it’s what they always tend to do.
A Leinster five in a row would see them match an achievement they last replicated between 2005 and 2009 and history is very much in their favour to repeat that.