Relief as Hurley's injury not as bad as feared

GOOD news has been thin on the ground for Cork football supporters in recent times but the relief that Brian Hurley’s hamstring injury is not as bad as first feared will be welcomed with open arms.

When the Castlehaven forward limped off during the second half of Cork’s 3-10 to 1-14 Division 2 league win away to Armagh on Sunday, there were initial fears that Hurley was in big trouble considering his serious hamstring woes in recent years.

In June 2016 he ripped his hamstring off the bone during a Cork training session and he suffered a similar injury to the same hamstring in March 2017 on his comeback when playing for Castlehaven in a county league game. Two major operations in less than one year left his football career hanging in the balance. 

Hurley missed 13 months before his second comeback began in a Carbery JAFC game against O’Donovan Rossa in April 2018. Since then he has worked hard to try and regain his best form and there were signs against Armagh, when he scored two early goals in the first half, that he could spark back into life.

Then he suffered the hamstring injury and limped off in the 48th minute. 

The good news is that Hurley has not suffered a recurrence of that same hamstring injury. He underwent a scan earlier this week that revealed he has not damaged the same tendon as he has previously. The scan showed that tendon is still fully intact but he has a tear on his lower hamstring that will keep him side-lined for a small while.