BRIAN Hurley will miss the chance to win his first Munster SFC medal after being ruled out of the huge showdown with Kerry.

The Castlehaven man has never hidden his desire to win the provincial senior championship, telling this paper previously that it’s ‘a priority every year’, but Hurley has been sidelined for the decider in Killarney on May 11th.

‘Brian has a groin injury,’ Cork boss John Cleary confirmed.

‘Unfortunately, he won't make the Munster final.’

Hurley (34) came on at half-time in Cork’s semi-final win against Tipperary last weekend and showed his class by scoring 0-3 from play, but he lasted just 20 minutes before limping off.

‘It’s a blow to Brian and to us – he has been playing well and making an impact,’ Cleary said.

‘He’s going to have another scan and we’ll go from there.’

Hurley made his senior inter-county debut in 2013, the season after Cork last won the Munster SFC title (2012). Since then, the Rebels have lost eight provincial finals, and the upcoming clash against All-Ireland champions Kerry is Cork’s first Munster decider since 2021.

Having started the opening Division 2 league games against Louth and Cavan, Hurley was sidelined for a spell but has made a strong impact off the bench since his return. He scored 0-4 in the away win against Tyrone that secured promotion to Division 1, kicked a goal against Meath in the league final, and was on target in both Munster SFC games against Limerick and Tipperary.

In total, Hurley has scored 1-13 (including four two-pointers) in six games this season, all from play.

Cork are also set to be without their breakout star Dara Sheedy, who missed the win against Tipperary. He is on his way back from a hamstring injury suffered in action with the Cork U20s.

‘The Munster final will probably come too soon for Dara. He's back doing a bit of running, but the Munster final is probably a non-runner for him,’ Cleary said.