Kenny resumes his position in central role

TOM KENNY resumes his midfield position in the Cork team for Sunday’s Munster hurling final against Waterford in Semple Stadium…

TOM KENNY resumes his midfield position in the Cork team for Sunday’s Munster hurling final against Waterford in Semple Stadium. Kenny was a late withdrawal from Cork’s semi-final line-up against Limerick due to the recurrence of a hamstring injury, but has now returned to full fitness and will line out alongside Cathal Naughton.

Lorcan McLoughlin drops back down to the bench as manager Denis Walsh has gone for an otherwise unchanged line-up.

Team captain Kieran Murphy from Sarsfields has recovered from his recent hamstring problems to line out in the full forward line alongside Aisake Ó hAilpín and Patrick Horgan, and corner back Brian Murphy, who had been troubled with a knee injury, is also passed fit.

Waterford coach Davy Fitzgerald has delayed the naming of his team until this evening as he awaits fitness updates on several players. Midfielder Richie Foley is suffering from a hand injury and is rated doubtful, but there are likely to be some changes from that team that overcame Clare – eventually – in their semi-final. Declan and Seamus Prendergast, and Ken and Eoin McGrath, who were all introduced in the Clare game to help swing the result in Waterford’s favour, are again likely to feature at same stage on Sunday, if not from the start.

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Both Meath and Louth will today release their starting line-ups for Sunday’s Leinster football final in Croke Park – and while Louth are likely to be unchanged from their semi-final win over Westmeath, Meath are expected to start Nigel Crawford at midfield, the only likely switch from the team which ripped Dublin apart in their semi-final.

Dublin will also announce their team this morning to face Tipperary in the second round of the football qualifiers – that game part of a double-bill in Croke Park tomorrow evening. Manager Pat Gilroy is likely to make further changes from the team that lost to Meath, with midfielder Eamonn Fennell nursing a hip injury, and Kevin Nolan and David Henry pressing hard for starting places.

Cork football manager Conor Counihan has made several changes for their second round qualifier against Cavan. Forwards Donncha O’Connor and Paul Kerrigan, who both started in the Munster final replay defeat to Kerry, are injured, and into the team instead come Fintan Goold and Colm O’Neill.

Galway will definitely be without forward and captain Michael Meehan for their second round tie against Wexford, due to the ankle injury he sustained in last weekend’s Connacht final replay defeat to Sligo.

Wexford will be unchanged from the team that comfortably beat London in the first round in Ruislip.

Offaly make three changes from the team that started against Clare in the first round for the meeting with Waterford. John Coughlan returns from suspension and will line out at midfield, Sean Pender starts at corner back while teenager Graham Guilfoyle of Clara comes in at wing forward.

The Offaly hurling team to play Limerick in their qualifier will not be announced until this evening.

Finally, the Leitrim football team to play Kildare shows six changes from the side which lost out to Roscommon – Ciaran Egan starts at full back, Gareth Phelan in goal, Gary Reynolds at left half back, while Philip Howard, Declan Maxwell and Declan Gilhooly are named in the forwards.

CORK(SH v Waterford): D Og Cusack; S O'Neill, E Cadogan, B Murphy; J Gardiner, R Curran, S Og O hAilpín; T Kenny, C Naughton; B O'Connor, J O'Connor, N McCarthy; K Murphy, A O hAilpin, P Horgan.

CORK(SF v Cavan): A Quirke; R Carey, G Canty, J O'Sullivan; J Miskella, M Shields, P Kissane; A O'Connor, A Walsh; F Goold, P O'Neill, P Kelly; D Goulding, C Sheehan, C O'Neill.

WEXFORD(SF v Galway): A Masterson; J Wadding, G Molloy, B Malone; A Flynn, D Murphy, A Doyle; E Bradley, D Waters; C Morris, R Barry, S Roche; C Lyng, M Forde, PJ Banville.

LEITRIM(SF v Kildare): G Phelan; D Reynolds, C Egan, D Beck; W McKeon, J McKeon, G Reynolds; T Beirne, S Canning; R Mulvey, James Glancy (Glencar/ Manorhamilton), M Foley; P Howard, D Maxwell, D Gilhooly.

OFFALY(SF v Waterford): A Mulhall; B Darby, S Brady, S Pender; N Darby, R Brady, K Slattery; R Dalton, J Coughlan; G Guilfoyle, B Connor, C McManus; K Casey, A Sullivan, N McNamee.

Ian O'Riordan

Ian O'Riordan

Ian O'Riordan is an Irish Times sports journalist writing on athletics