A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Canning could be back in four weeks as injury may not be as bad as feared

THERE ARE hopes that the shoulder injury which Joe Canning received in a Fitzgibbon Cup match on Tuesday may not be as bad as initially feared.

The 23-year-old Galway star is waiting on the results of a scan and an examination by a specialist before the full extent of the injury is assessed,

But there are hopes that he could be back in two to four weeks, with the longer absence the more likely.

Canning will miss Sunday’s league opener against Dublin having damaged his A-C joint during LIT’s victory over GMIT in the Fitzgibbon Cup on Tuesday.

The Galway hurling management team of Anthony Cunningham, Mattie Kenny and Tom Helebert were made aware of the injury straight away.

“The exact timeline won’t be available until after further scans but it is now a matter of working on recovery,” said Cunningham.

Canning has been in excellent form this season, and had scored 1-8 before he suffered the injury in the second-half of the 1-20 to 0-8 win over GMIT.

O'Connor warns Kerry players to stop questioning referees

KERRY MANAGER Jack OConnor has had a meeting with his senior players warning them on the need to stop badgering and questioning referees regarding decisions made – an issue that has reared its head during recent NFL games.

Kerry chairman Patrick OSullivan revealed the Kerry boss had already reacted in the wake of criticism of the behaviour of some Kerry footballers towards officials that saw many supporters and former players such as Páidi Ó Sé express displeasure.

The matter was raised at Monday night’s county board meeting by Valentia delegate Michael ODonoghue, who maintained that Kerry players were seen as role models by young people and that the recent behaviour of some more senior players in questioning almost every refereeing decision was not ‘the Kerry way’.

“I have to say that I am very disappointed at the way some of the Kerry players having been behaving in recent games and the lack of respect they are showing towards referees,” he said.

Before other delegates could have their say, chairman Patrick OSullivan informed the meeting that the matter was being dealt with. “I can reveal that last Tuesday night [February 14th], Jack OConnor brought some of the senior players together after training and laid down the law as to what is acceptable and not acceptable as regards behaviour towards match officials. So team management are dealing with matter and we will leave it rest for now.”

This was accepted by delegates, as OSullivan also reminded the meeting that last year Kerry finished on top of the “Fair Play” standings at the end of the NFL.

New twist in Johnston transfer saga

THE PROTRACTED Seánie Johnston transfer saga looks set to lie in the hands of the executive committee of Cavan county board once again, following Tuesday night’s hearing on the application.

The Central Competitions Control Committee quizzed the former Breffni captain about his permanent residency, and members of the panel were presented with a number of documents as evidence that he was living in Straffan.

These included confirmation that Johnston held a utility account for the address he is giving as his home, as well as a tenancy contract with his landlord.

As a result, the committee has opted to return the matter to Cavan board, as it is they, rather than Johnston’s club, Cavan Gaels, who questioned the 27-year-old’s permanent residence and whether a transfer to St Kevin’s and Kildare would be within GAA rules.

Speaking after Cavan’s management committee decided not to sign the transfer form last month, county PRO, Declan Woods, said they had received no evidence to support the fact that Johnston was living in Straffan.

“As far as we’re concerned, the Seán Johnston that we know works full time in Cavan and lives in Cavan,” Woods stated at the time.

Having received evidence to the contrary, the committee is referring the matter back to the Cavan executive for comment.

O Se called up to Munster squad for interprovincial showdown with Ulster

MUNSTER MANAGER Ger O’Sullivan had added Kerry’s Marc Ó Sé to his squad for next Sunday’s M Donnelly interprovincial final against Ulster.

However, Munster will have no Tipperary players in their squad again for the visit to Armagh, with football board chairman Noel Morris insisting that players asked to link up with the province “weren’t interested” in doing so.

Waterford’s Thomas O’Gorman is unavailable for the meeting with Ulster at the Morgan Athletic Grounds because of a prior commitment and Ó Sé has taken his place in a 24-man panel, after promising O’Sullivan that he would be available if Munster progressed to the final.

Footballer of the year in 2007,

Ó Se could not commit for last weekend’s semi-final victory over Leinster but the vastly-experienced defender (31) was due to attend training in Mallow last night ahead of the Ulster match.

O’Sullivan, a current Cork selector, confirmed: “Marc Ó Sé is coming in. We knew that he was unavailable last weekend but that he would be committed if we got over Leinster, and that he would come on board if we needed him.”

O’Sullivan, meanwhile, has admitted disappointment as the lack of Tipperary representation in his squad.

He said: “We’re disappointed that they’re not available for one reason or another.”