Cork's Liam Honohan will know today the extent of the injury which forced his substitution in Sunday's National Football League quarter-final and which threatens his championship prospects. The ankle injury is similar to one sustained by Honohan a couple of years ago and will in all likelihood rule him out of the semi-final against Meath on Sunday week.
"It's an ongoing problem," said the player yesterday. "If you do the damage once, chances are you'll do it again. The after-match care was excellent on Sunday and there was plenty of ice applied immediately and on the train home. I wasn't at work today (Monday) and I'm hoping that will help my recovery."
Honohan's last ankle injury kept him out of the game for a month. A similar stretch of inactivity would jeopardise his chances of playing the NFL final should Cork qualify and even make his participation in the championship opener against Waterford a bit of a race against time.
He doesn't believe that the county's chastening experience two years ago - when they reached the league final only to lose in the championship to Clare - will have any bearing on their approach to the match against Meath.
"I don't think that would concern us. We're in very good form at the moment and there's good character in the side, more character than there was in that team."
Cork's NFL semi-final opponents Meath also have an anxious wait to see if they will be able to bring back some of their recently-missing big guns. Former Footballer of the Year Trevor Giles is set to make a return from the cruciate injury he suffered in last year's Leinster final against Kildare. Currently in Australia with the Ireland under-17 International Rules panel, for whom he acts as physio, Giles's comeback is nearly complete.
"Trevor is Australia at the moment," said Meath selector Frank Foley, "but I think he'll make himself available when he gets back. He's been training fully and has played a couple of matches with his club. Maybe a League semi-final is too intense a match for his comeback, but he'll be on the bench."
All-Ireland winning captain Tommy Dowd is another for whom the April 25th deadline may come a little too soon. Like Honohan, he has damaged his ankle ligaments and will, according to Foley, probably need more time to recover. Another of the All-Ireland medallists, Barry Callaghan, who has made one appearance as a substitute, against Mayo, was also on the bench yesterday and is back in contention.
"Jimmy McGuinness gave his shoulder a bit of a tweak and is a bit worried because that was the injury which kept him out in recent months."
Otherwise only long-term injury victim Brendan Reilly continues to be absent. A back injury hasn't yet cleared and the Dunboyne man is running out of time for championship preparation given that he hasn't trained since last year's championship.
Senan Connell and Tomo Lynch, who had to be withdrawn before the throw-in because of injury, are expected to be back in contention for Dublin's semi-final. Opponents Armagh expect to have top scorer Diarmuid Marsden back for the match. He missed the weekend's match against Sligo because of a groin injury, but joint-manager Brian Canavan is hopeful. "He should be alright. There'll be three weeks between the injury and the Dublin match. Oisin McConville will have the plaster off his hand and will be in contention."
The major concern will be Cathal O'Rourke, who damaged one of his quads while kicking a free in a repeat of an injury he picked up in last June's championship match against Down. "He snapped it," said Canavan, "but it may not be as bad as last year's. We won't know until it settles down a bit, but I'd say he'll be out for about a month. At the moment he's the most doubtful of the three injuries."
