DARA Sheedy has been confirmed as ruled out for Cork’s Munster SFC semi-final clash away to Tipperary this Saturday (2pm) in Semple Stadium after suffering a hamstring injury.

The Bantry Blues player went down after just 21 minutes during the Cork U20s’ Munster football championship victory over Kerry, and the injury has proved to be a concerning one.

The 19-year-old is now out of contention to play for John Cleary’s seniors this weekend. He was sidelined for Ray Keane’s U20 team in their clash against Waterford on Wednesday night too.

Sheedy has started seven senior games to date for the Rebels across league and championship, scoring 1-10. That included his first senior championship goal in their 4-16 to 1-16 Munster quarter-final victory over Limerick.

He will prove to be a big loss to Cleary’s team and the Cork boss will have a big decision to make. Castlehaven man Brian Hurley, Newcestown’s David Buckley or Conor Corbett are the likely candidates to replace the youngster at full-forward.

Former Cork footballer, and All-Ireland winner from 2010, Daniel Goulding believes Sheedy has added a great dimension to the Rebels’ attack and will be missed.

‘Dara Sheedy is a major reason why Cork have improved going forward. He’s a great link man and the key piece to transitioning the ball from defence to attack quickly,’ Goulding told The Southern Star.

‘He has been the consistent playmaker on the Cork team and will be a huge loss.’

The Rebels are looking for their first Munster final appearance since 2021 when they face Tipperary.

The last championship clash between the sides resulted in Tipp winning the 2020 provincial decider, 0-17 to 0-14, and taking home their first Munster title in 85 years.

In fact, Tipp have won two out of the last five championship games between the teams.

Cork look firm favourites to avoid a shock defeat this time though, even without Sheedy.

While the Rebels earned promotion to Division 1 for next season, Tipp have spent the last three years in Division 4.