Ciarán Kilkenny ruled out for season with cruciate injury

Dublin dual star Ciarán Kilkenny has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2014 season after rupturing a cruciate tendon early in Saturday night’s league victory over Kildare at Croke Park.

The talented forward was replaced by Davy Byrne after just four minutes of the Division One encounter and he underwent a scan in Dublin on Sunday morning.

A statement released this afternoon by the Dublin footballers confirmed that the 20-year-old had ruptured an ACL and that he will miss the rest of the season

Dublin manager Jim Gavin said: "On a personal level this is very frustrating for Ciarán who has played a vital role in the recent successes in both football and hurling for his county and club at all grades.

“Protocols have been activated to ensure that Ciarán will receive the best of medical care and the Dublin Football coaching staff will actively assist Ciarán in his recovery over the weeks and months ahead.

“We wish Ciarán a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing him back to full health in the near future”.

Kilkenny is the second high profile footballer to suffer a cruciate injury in recent weeks, with Kerry's Colm Cooper also injuring his knee playing for his club Dr Crokes in the All-Ireland club semi-finals.