Davy Fitzgerald is set to rest Waterford’s key men in the opening three or four fixtures of National Hurling League in a bid to ensure they are firing on all cylinders when the championship rolls around.
The Deise boss intends allowing Tony Browne, Dan Shanahan, Ken McGrath, Eoin Murphy, Seamus Prendergast and John Mullane stay away from training until mid-March.
The sextet have been the mainstay of the Waterford side for some time and the manager feels they need a break, especially Shanahan and Browne who have been rumoured to be considering retirement.
“They are all on individual programmes at the moment under the guidance of Ger Hartmann, including the two lads (Browne and Shanahan),” said the former Clare goalkeeper.
“It's a gamble we’re probably taking leaving them out for so long. But we need to manage them as well as we can, get the best out of them at the right time of the season.
"Tony Browne has done it for the last few years and it has served him very well. If everyone came back the way Tony does, well we wouldn't have any problems," he added in the Irish Independent.
The rested players and Stephen Molumphy, who is on a tour of duty with the Irish Army, are not expected back until after Waterford have faced Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Cork.
The game against the Rebels is on March 21st.
“We'll be without seven key players and I accept that's a lot but it won't diminish our effort in the league whatsoever. We'll be working hard for as many good results as we can get,” added Fitzgerald.