LIMERICK’S WORST fears were confirmed last night with the news that talismanic midfielder John Galvin has sustained cruciate ligament damage to his left knee for the second time in a year.

The 31-year-old midfielder limped out of Limerick’s Allianz NFL Division Four clash with Fermanagh at Enniskillen last Sunday after just 20 minutes.

It was just Galvin’s third game back following his recovery from the cruciate ligament injury he sustained against Down in a challenge match in May last year.

At the Sports Surgery Clinic in Santry, Dublin, yesterday, Galvin’s knee was scanned before he met a specialist. It emerged the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was severely torn but not completely severed, as occurred last year.

Galvin (pictured) could yet feature for Limerick in this year’s championship as manager Maurice Horan revealed the Croom powerhouse will embark on a four-week weights programme.

“Then a specialist will decide if he needs an operation, or not, but it will probably need an operation from what I’m hearing,” Horan said.

“John is definitely out of the Waterford game (Munster SFC on May 20th) no matter what. After the four weeks, John will talk with the specialist again and then decide if he can do something with it, or not. Of course, the decision is completely John’s.”

Meanwhile, new Tipperary senior football manager Peter Creedon is planning without key midfielder Brian Jones for the championship.

The Arravale Rovers clubman impressed in Tipperary’s most recent NFL Division Three outing against Longford but the 23-year-old is moving to Boston later this month on a 90-day sanction and will link up with Meath’s Joe Sheridan at the Wolfe Tones club.

It is also expected Tipperary forward Barry Grogan will follow suit and that is a double blow for the county ahead of the Munster quarter-final clash with Kerry on May 27th.