O’Meara likely to miss Clare clash
By Shane Brophy
The injury curse in the Tipperary senior hurling camp has struck again with Niall O’Meara set to miss the Munster Championship opener against Clare on April 23rd.
The Kilruane MacDonaghs clubman missed the entire National League campaign with a combination of ankle and groin injuries but recently returned to training.
He lined out in a fringe Tipperary selection in a challenge game against Carlow last week and sustained ankle ligament damage which isn’t as bad as initially feared but is set to be ruled out for up to three weeks which would virtually rule him out of featuring against the Banner.
O’Meara hasn’t featured for Tipperary since the All-Ireland quarter final defeat to Waterford in 2021 having taken a year out from inter-county hurling in 2022. His return this year would have bolstered the experience in the team of a teak-tough player who can play in a range of positions.
If O’Meara isn’t able to line out, he will join Paddy Cadell on the absentee list for the Clare clash while Cathal Barrett and Seamus Callanan remain in a race against time to recover from shoulder and knee injuries respectively.
Tickets for all games in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship will go on general sale this Thursday morning, 6th April at 11.00am, including the Clare v Tipperary match at the 18,000 capacity Cusack Park so non season ticket holders will have to be quick off the mark to avoid being disappointed.
In advance of the Munster Championship opener, Tipperary will play their final challenge game in advance of the clash with Clare this Saturday at 3.00pm against Darragh Egan’s Wexford at the new Carrick Swan grounds in Carrick-on-Suir. The game is a benefit match for Carrick native Ryan O’Dwyer who sustained life-changing injuries in a road-traffic accident in July of last year and has been left paralysed from the chest down.
The Munster Championship does get under way for the Tipperary senior footballers this Sunday when they host Waterford in FBD Semple Stadium