GAA News

Galway hurling fans can breathe a little bit easier this morning after it was revealed that Joe Canning’s shoulder injury isn’t as bad as was initially feared.

While it would be stretching it to say that the Tribesman’s hopes for this season rest entirely on the Portumna man’s shoulders, they would certainly find it a lot harder to make an impact in the league and championship without their scoring machine in the forward line.

Canning, who had been in blistering form for Limerick IT in the Fitzgibbon Cup, damaged his shoulder in LIT’s victory over GMIT on Tuesday and there had been fears that he could be sidelined for a lengthy period as a result.

The 23-year old is set to undergo a scan to determine the full extent of the injury, but according to the Irish Times, he is expected to be out for a maximum of four weeks and could even return within a fortnight.

“The exact timeline won’t be available until after further scans but it is now a matter of working on recovery,” Galway manager Anthony Cunningham is quoted as saying in the paper.

Canning will miss the National League opener against reigning champions Dublin this weekend and will be touch and go for the meeting with Tipperary in Semple Stadium in a fortnight’s time.

The fact that he’ll be back before too long is welcome news not just for Galway but for all neutral hurling supporters looking forward to more flashes of genius like this in the season ahead.