Injury worries mount as Offaly face steep learning curve in National Hurling League

OFFALY are exactly where they want to be but face a real baptism of fire when they travel to Nowlan Park next Sunday for their National Hurling League Division 1A opener against Kilkenny next Sunday.

It will be a very tough campaign with no hiding place in games against the best hurling counties in the country – Offaly have home games against Tipperary, Galway and Limerick and are also away to Waterford and Cork.

Like Offaly footballers, the hurlers have been hit with a string of injury problems and will be down several established players for the short to medium term.

Ruari Kelly, David Nally, Killian Sampson, Ciaran Burke, Shane Rigney, Ter Guinan, James Mahon and recently appointed captain Charlie Mitchell will all miss league games as they deal with a variety of issues.

They will all miss the trip to Kilkenny with Ruari Kelly, Shane Rigney and James Mahon dealing with hamstring injuries. Lusmagh man Kelly may be back for the second game at home to Tipperary but Mahon is looking at missing the whole league after suffering a grade 3 hamstring tear in the Walsh Cup loss to Galway recently.

Shane Rigney is recovering while Ter Guinan is out for Sunday with a “slight niggle”, according to manager Johnny Kelly. David Nally (shoulder), Ciaran Burke (ankle ligaments) and Killian Sampson (groin) are all targeting different games for coming back through a condensed league programme.

Charlie Mitchell is out for some time after being hit with a virus and Johnny Kelly is waiting for clarification about when he can play again.

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With such a tough programme and heavy injury list, they are odds on favourites for relegation but returning to the top flight in both league and championship represents phenomenal progress for a county who couldn't get out of the Christy Ring Cup just a handful of years ago.

It has been a serious journey and great credit is due to everyone who has brought Offaly back up the ladder.

There is of course still a lot of road to travel and no one is under any illusions about that. It is one thing being in the top flight, it is another being competitive there and that is the target for Offaly in the league.

There is also the possibility that they will take a scalp and that would be a great boost to manager Johnny Kelly as they bid to raise the bar further.

Kilkenny represent a huge barrier for Offaly. In the 1980s and '90s, Offaly regularly beat Kilkenny but their last victory over them in a competitive league or championship game was in the 1998 All-Ireland final. In the meantime, Offaly have received some awful beatings from them as they entered decline after 2000.

Kilkenny are not the same powerful force that they were a few years ago but they remain on the list of All-Ireland contenders. Offaly have narrowed the gap in recent years, occasionally able to get the losing margin down to under 10 points but they are still off Kilkenny's level.

Offaly will tear into this with everything they have, bidding to unsettle Kilkenny from the throw in and to be in a position to ask serious questions of them inside the closing quarter.

Recent history suggests that Offaly will be beaten but they will take them at some stage and you never know – the absence of so many players means that is unlikely to happen this Sunday. There won't be a rush of money on Offaly and the only interest in the betting markets will be on the handicap but for Offaly, the performance is the important thing and they will be putting their best foot forward.

National Hurling League Division 1A

Sunday, January 25 – Kilkenny v Offaly, Nowlan Park 2pm

Sunday, February 1 – Offaly v Tipperary, O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, February 8 – Waterford v Offaly, Walsh Park, Waterford 1.45pm

Sunday, February 22 – Offaly v Galway, O'Connor Park 2pm

Sunday, March 1 – Offaly v Limerick, O'Connor Park 2pm

Saturday, March 21 – Cork v Offaly, Pairc Ui Caoimh 7pm