Galway hurling manager Micheal Donoghue issues squad update ahead of Leinster final
GALWAY senior hurling manager Micheal Donoghue has issued a squad update ahead of his side’s Leinster final with Dublin next weekend. Kieran Hanrahan is set to miss the remainder of the 2026 inter-county season after picking up a serious ankle injury in Galway’s win over Wexford in round five of the Leinster SHC last weekend.
Rory Burke missed Galway’s win over Wexford with a hamstring injury, while Cathal Mannion and Aaron Niland also missed the clash with ankle injuries. Meanwhile, Daithi Burke also picked up an ankle injury during the first half of the Wexford game.
“So yeah, we picked up a few (injuries), Kieran Hanrahan picked up a really nasty one in his achilles tendon. So he's going to need surgery on that, which is really unfortunate for him,” Micheal Donoghue told Tribune Sport.
“And you've seen Daithi (Burke) picked up an injury in the first half as well. So as I said scans Tuesday and yesterday on a few lads. Working really hard with the medical team, obviously you want to get your strongest team on the pitch. But just some of the injuries with the severity of them, you know, it's going to be up against the clock. So next week, will tell the tale. Like I said, just with hamstrings and ankle injuries and just on the severity of it and making sure they have a few sessions under the belt. So it's just trying to manage that.”
It comes as a setback to Hanrahan who was drafted into the Galway senior hurling panel on the back of an impressive club season with Loughrea
“Kieran is officially definitely ruled out.It's horrific, like it happened right in front of us and it didn't even look like it was something that serious. Do you know what I mean? And obviously the discomfort was obvious when he was coming off the pitch. So it's a hard one to take for him, definitely because he was making a massive contribution,” Micheal Donoghue told Tribune Sport.
Galway U20 hurling manager Gavin Keary said Aaron Niland is unlikely to feature in the Tribesmen’s clash with Clare in the All-Ireland U20 final. Senior panelists Cullen Killeen and Jason Rabbitte will be in action for Gavin Keary’s side on Sunday afternoon. The All-Ireland U20 hurling final gets underway on Sunday afternoon at 2pm in FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles.