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Tipperary boss Eamonn O'Shea and Lar Corbett. INPHO/James Crombie
Injury Doubt

Tipp boss admits Corbett unlikely to start against Limerick

Tipperaery boss Eamonn O’Shea has revealed that the attacker has done no contact training due to a rib injury.

TIPPERARY SENIOR MANAGER Eamon O’Shea has admitted that Lar Corbett is “unlikely” to start against Limerick in nine days time.

O’Shea stopped short of ruling the 2010 Hurler of the Year out of his plans completely for the Munster SHC semi-final clash at the Gaelic Grounds.

But he did reveal that Corbett has yet to return to contact training with the Premier County.

O’Shea also insisted that Corbett, 32, wasn’t guaranteed a starting place against the Shannonsiders in any event, even if he was fit.

The hugely-competitive nature of the Tipp squad, along with the emergence of young forwards Jason Forde and John O’Dwyer, has increased pressure on panel members to perform.

O’Shea can only pick 26 players for his match day squad and naturally, the 2010 All-Ireland winning coach is anxious to start with players who are fully fit.

That appears to rule Corbett out of the equation, after the Thurles Sarsfields hitman sustained broken ribs in the Allianz National League Division 1 final against Kilkenny on May 5th.

Corbett was sent off in the second half along with JJ Delaney following a goalmouth fracas that also involved Cats netminder Eoin Murphy.

The discovery of a loophole in the GAA rulebook freed Corbett to play against Limerick – with Delaney also eligible for Kilkenny’s visit to Tullamore on Sunday week, June 9.

But O’Shea said: “It’s very difficult because it’s a rib. You just don’t know because at the moment he’s had no physical contact and to be honest with you, I’m not really thinking about him.

“I wouldn’t rule anybody out but he hasn’t done any contact. I’d be thinking it’s unlikely. At this stage he’s just pucking around here and there. No contact, none.”

Meanwhile, O’Shea has confirmed that corner-back Paddy Stapleton is back in contention for a starting place after breaking his hand in a club game a week before the Kilkenny defeat.

Tipperary’s Paddy Stapleton.
Pic: INPHO/Lorraine O’Sullivan

And the manager also insisted that if Corbett was suspended for a match, his personal view would have been not to pursue an appeal.

He explained: “With these sort of things, I’m old school. If the match is played, the match is played and the match is over. You shake hands with your opponent and you move on. Maybe other people were thinking about it but it just didn’t cross my mind.”

Lar Corbett: ‘Everyone is on about do I feel hard done by but all of that is out of my hands’

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