Any update on King Henry's injury?

[Croí na hÉireann]

I hear Henry played in a challenge match last week for Ballyhale ?

Back training I heard today.

[orangeman]

Henry Shefflin made an impressive return to action with Kilkenny in a challenge game with Waterford in Tallow on Sunday.

Shefflin was making his first appearance for the Cats since he was forced out of last year's All-Ireland Hurling final defeat against Tipperary.

The Ballyhale Shamrocks man scored 0-08 including three scores from play in a 0-26 to 3-09 win.


'I've been waiting for this day for a very long time, and I'm more than happy at the way things went for me,' Shefflin told GAA.ie.


'Right now I'm not feeling any ill effects and hopefully I will stay injury free for all of the championship campaign

[orangeman]

We got our answer today ( and before this game as well to be fair ) as to his well being.


One year on from another serious injury, he made some return to the fold and was instrumental in today's win, and gave his man a torrid time.

A mighty man !

[Bord na Mona man]

Out for 6 months now...


Shefflin facing six months out

Kilkenny hurling legend Henry Shefflin is facing the prospect of six months on the sideline recovering from shoulder surgery, it emerged yesterday.

Shefflin, who picked up his eighth All-Ireland senior hurling medal last September in the Cats' win over Tipperary, is to go under the knife to remedy a knock picked up on duty with his club, Ballyhale Shamrocks, in the Kilkenny championship.

"Henry injured his shoulder against O'Loughlin Gaels in the county semi-final," Ballyhale chairman Sean Reid revealed yesterday.

"He was able to play on that day, and he played against James Stephens in the final and the replay as well, but he'll have to have an operation on it soon and he's likely to miss out on at least six months as he recovers.

"That means we'll be without him here in the club for the early part of the county championship, and Kilkenny look like they won't have him at all for the national hurling league, because even if he had the operation right now you'd be talking about May or maybe June before he'd be right."

Shefflin, who will be 33 in January, has battled back from serious injuries in the past. He has recovered from two ruptured cruciate ligament injuries which necessitated operations in recent years, one in the All-Ireland final against Limerick in 2007 and the other picked up against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final of 2010.

The Cats star resumed his intercounty and club career after both injuries, and even managed to line out in the All-Ireland final of 2010 just weeks after picking up the knee injury, though he was forced off before half-time in Kilkenny's defeat by Tipperary.

The news will come as a headache to Kilkenny manager Brian Cody, particularly with the decision earlier in the week of James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick
to leave the Cats panel at the age of 26.

[Bord na Mona man]

Looks like Shefflin is going to make a really big tilt at 2014!


Delight for Cody as 'mad to play' Shefflin shakes off rust in style

KILKENNY 1-24 GALWAY 0-15

VINCENT HOGAN – 27 JANUARY 2014

The modernist view of hurling is that Henry Shefflin ought really be in the land of slippers and bi-focals now as he eases his 35-year-old frame through winter's black humour.

But he brought a lyric touch to the artistically spartan business of Walsh Cup hurling yesterday, Kilkenny delivering a quiet, firm statement of renewal in Freshford. With hail sweeping down in agitated tornados from an inky sky and umbrellas snapping like kindling, it would have seemed appropriate to send out an expedition, not a team here.

Yet, Kilkenny essentially rode the conditions home in a storm-assisted second half, turning a four-point half-time deficit into an almost desultory double-digit win.

For Shefflin, it represented his earliest inter-county start in nine years, yet he delivered a flawless free-taking exhibition as well as a good half-dozen gorgeously creative cameos that had the majority of a remarkable 1,500 attendance whooping loud approval.

Brian Cody is maybe too well versed in the murky perils of January tea-leaves to read too much into this, but did reflect: "He (Shefflin) was decent there today. He's in great shape. Essentially it's the first pre-season he has had in four years to be able to get out there and do it and give himself a chance.

"He's mad for it. His hurling the past few years has been very much more limited than he would have wanted it to be. So he's just mad to play, there is no doubt about that. He is bursting to get out there."

For Galway, the second-half fade-out was a concern for Anthony Cunningham, whose wound was salted further by an intemperate late pull from Darragh Burke that brought the young centre-back a straight red card and led to Eoin Larkin's departure on a stretcher.

Larkin was subsequently able to walk back to the dressing-room with his right arm in a sling, the two managers taking rather polarised views of what had happened.

Cunningham described Burke's sending-off as "harsh", suggesting that yellow would have been a more appropriate choice of colour by referee Brian Gavin.

"Darragh Burke had the ball in his hand, threw the ball up to hit it, I think t'was a bit rash or maybe a bit wild, a yellow card it would be in my book really," he said. "There was not intent and, when there isn't any intent, it shouldn't be a red card."

Cody expressed relief that early indications of a broken elbow bone had been readjusted to "bruising", observing flatly: "I don't want to get involved in it. It was something that shouldn't have happened really, but I'm not going to start pontificating about it."

With a gusting wind in their backs, Galway had the better of the first half, yet struggled to build the kind of lead it was clear the conditions demanded.

They'd suffered a fifth-minute sucker-punch when Colin Fennelly goaled after brilliant build-up play between Shefflin, Mark Kelly and Larkin. Galway would win the remainder of the half by 0-11 to 0-4 with the likes of Niall Burke and Cathal Mannion making good use of the elements.

Yet, even then, it was clear that Shefflin, Fennelly and JJ Farrell were on form in the Kilkenny attack while Conor Fogarty and Paul Murphy especially were hurling up a storm on the left side of their defence.

Galway led 0-12 to 1-5 at the interval, but that advantage had disappeared within nine minutes of the resumption. Between the 35th and 55th minutes, Kilkenny outscored their opponents 0-10 to 0-1, Shefflin punishing every Galway misdemeanour with pin-point accuracy.

He set up the score of the game in the 48th minute, spiriting the ball almost magically from a copse of hurleys before finding the unmarked Fennelly with a sublime reverse-pass to the right wing. By now, admittedly, it was one-way traffic, Galway's resilience leaking palpably away.

Cunningham was relatively sanguine when it was over. "We'd be happy enough with our progress and we'll focus on the Railway Cup in two weeks," he reflected. "That's another match before the league. It's Dublin then in Pearse Stadium.

"The championship is the big one for us and we have to give guys experience in the league. We saw that today, we had Sylvie Linnane and Gearoid McInerney, playing there, two wing-backs, Darragh Burke, second season but also getting a flavour of it, Padraig Landers and Richie Cummins, players up front.

"We'll try and get experience. You can train away, but it's only when you come up against top-class inter-county players you know if you are going to step up to the mark."

Kilkenny now face Dublin in Croke Park in Saturday's final, Cody reflecting: "It means another match, which is good. The league is coming up obviously very soon, so matches are good for us. I'm happy enough, definitely."

SCORERS – Kilkenny: H Shefflin 0-13 (12fs), C Fennelly 1-3, JJ Farrell 0-3, A Fogarty, B Hogan, E Larkin, P Walsh and M Kelly 0-1 each. Galway: N Healy 0-8 (6 fs, 1 '65'), N Burke, C Mannion 0-2 each, D Glennon, Darragh Burke, C Callanan (f) 0-1 each.

KILKENNY – E Murphy, S Prendergast, M Walsh, C Fogarty, J Holden, B Hogan, P Murphy, A Fogarty, P Phelan, H Shefflin, C Fennelly, E Larkin, JJ Farrell, M Kelly, L Ryan. Subs: T Breen for Ryan (45), D Langton for Murphy (52), P Walsh for A Fogarty (52), T Keogh for Prendergast (59).

GALWAY – C Callanan, F Moore, R Burke, J Coen, G McInerney, Darragh Burke, S Og Linnane, C Mannion, A Harte, D Glennon, J Glynn, N Burke, P Landers, C Cooney, N Healy. Subs: B Flaherty for Harte (55), R Cummins for Glennon (55), D Dolan for N Burke (65).

Ref – B Gavin (Offaly)

[pullhard]

Seems the king has rolled back the years, Some of his touches were amazing at the weekend. His free taking is worth its weight in gold to Kilkenny!

[johnneycool]

I'd keep my powder dry for a while yet on Henry till the sod drys out.

Whilst he looks to have gotten himself in great shape, the game if anything has got faster, speed was never Henrys forte, can't see him bursting passed many defenders like of yore. His vision and passing is still something else, but he'll need to likes of Colin Fennelly running off him to have an impact.

[seafoid]

I think mouview is right. Henry is BOD with a helmet.
Mortal now. Is he 35?   

[theskull1]

Fennelly looks pretty tasty at number 11 it has to be said. Their forward line looks to be threatening again with the younger guns being the leading lights. But their backline look to be a fair bit off the pace. Joyce not a tight enough marker and too slow on the turn going by last Sunday. Tommy Walsh also...did he touch a ball? I can't remember.

[johnneycool]

Fennelly looks pretty tasty at number 11 it has to be said. Their forward line looks to be threatening again with the younger guns being the leading lights. But their backline look to be a fair bit off the pace. Joyce not a tight enough marker and too slow on the turn going by last Sunday. Tommy Walsh also...did he touch a ball? I can't remember.

If Kilkenny are to win the AI this year it'll be off the backs of the two Fennellys, Rice, the two Richies and Paul Murphy. Some of the new lads in defence have a bit of speed and have looked decent enough, but only time will tell for them but new blood will be required in defence from last year and Cody knows it.

[Last Man]

Fenelly was outstanding throughout but it took Richie Hogan to come on and turn the tide i thought anyway. Not the most silky hurlers in the ff line but certainly ball winners and serious workers. Cody looks to be saying you'll not be near the team unless your're knocking your pan in no matter how good a stick man you think you are.