Fitzgibbon to miss remainder of Cork's Munster campaign
Cork captain Darragh Fitzgibbon will miss the remainder of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship after surgery on his appendix.
The three-time All-Star has been in imperious form for a Rebels side that have three wins from three in Munster and bidding to retain their provincial crown, but manager Ben O'Connor will have to plan without the Charleville man until at least the All-Ireland series after having the procedure at the weekend.
He joins defenders Robert Downey and Ciarán Joyce on the injured list. Downey is recovering from an ankle ligament issue and could feature in the Munster final should the Rebels make it there, but Joyce (ACL) is out for the season.
Cork conclude their provincial round-robin campaign on Sunday against Clare (live on RTÉ2), with the possibility of the Munster final on Sunday, 7 June.
Should the Rebels finish third in Munster or lose the final, they would be in quarter-final action on the weekend of 20/21. Retention of their Munster crown would send them straight through to the All-Ireland semi-finals on the weekend of 4/5 July.
The 29-year-old, who was handed the captaincy this season, has won All-Stars in the last two seasons and has continued last season’s rich form in Munster.
Stationed at wing-forward for the opener against Tipperary, he picked off four points from play in a blistering opening 10 minutes as O’Connor’s championship managerial reign got off to a winning start.
The skipper picked up the player of the match accolade in the absorbing win over Limerick in round two, an all-action display capped with 0-05 to his name.
With a rejig of the team owing to injuries in defence, Fitzgibbon was back in midfield for the battling four-point win away to Waterford, chipping in with three points, including a free.
His club manager Dominic Foley told Echo Live that while it is a blow for both Charleville and Cork, the focus now is on the player returning to full fitness.
"He's hugely important to Cork and obviously to ourselves," he said.
"But the main thing is he gets right. He’ll get the best care and we’ll support him all the way. Everyone here is thinking of him."
Watch a provincial hurling double-header, Dublin v Kilkenny (2pm) and Cork v Clare (4pm), on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
