Injuries mount for Offaly footballers as defensive stalwart awaits scan

OFFALY'S prospects of survival in Division 2 of the National Football League have been damaged with three certain starters definitely out for most of it and concern about another.

Cillian Bourke will definitely be gone after heading to Australia on Sunday on a two year professional contract with Australian Football League club Essendon. Offaly would have been building their team around Bourke and confirmation of his departure emerged last week – he played in Tullamore's Leinster club senior football semi-final defeat by Ballyboden St Enda's on Saturday, flying out the next day.

Offaly senior footballer of the year Cathal Flynn is also likely to miss most, if not all, of the campaign. Flynn is getting a shoulder operation in the coming weeks and there will be a lengthy recuperation period from that. He hurt his shoulder in the National Football League defeat by Clare last March but deferred getting an operation to see out the season with Offaly and Ferbane.

He was in sensational form as Offaly won Division 3 of the National Football League and also starred as Ferbane returned to the senior football final, losing to Tullamore for the third successive year. He has to get the operation and managers Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly will be preparing for the league in the expectation that it will be near the end of it before he gets back, if not until the championship.

Goalkeeper Paddy Dunican is already on the recovery road after getting a cruciate operation several weeks ago and it remains to be seen how quick he can get back but he is unlikely to play much in the league.

There were also cruciate fears about defensive lynchpin, John Furlong when he went off after just seventeen minutes of Tullamore's defeat by Ballyboden. The brilliant defender attended Offaly senior football training on Sunday morning, where he was assessed by their medical personnel and he will have to get a scan to determine what exactly it is. It is a knee injury and while there are hopes that it may be less serious than the dreaded cruciate and won't rule him out for long, that can't be taken off the table until the scan results are delivered this week.

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If Furlong was out, it would be a nightmare for Offaly with Bourke gone, their established number one out and their attacking pulse greatly weakened with Flynn injured.