Carlow may have to be patient a little longer before seeing James Doyle return to competitive action, with the St Mullins man not expected back until the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Doyle has yet to feature for Carlow during the Allianz Hurling League campaign, as management continue to manage his recovery carefully. Pat Bennett’s side are next in action on February 22nd, when they make the difficult trip to Dunloy to face Antrim.
Speaking on Full Time with Eddie Scally on KCLR, Carlow selector and coach Shane Briggs outlined the thinking behind the cautious approach, stressing the importance of having Doyle fully fit for championship hurling rather than risking an early return.
“We want the best version of James Doyle for championship and we don’t want James Doyle at 80 per cent breaking down again and again and again and he’s out. Hopefully over the next number of weeks we’ll see steady progress and then we will have him back for Joe Mac.”
Briggs also provided an update on Ciaran Whelan, who has been sidelined with another significant injury and has missed several months of action.
“Again, we want the best version of Ciaran back, but he’s had another bad enough injury, so he’s been out for the last number of months. So again, we’re looking at both back for the Joe McDonagh hopefully.”
You can hear more from Shane Briggs, along with in-depth discussion and analysis on all things hurling, on the KCLR Hurling Podcast – Analysis Edition, available now wherever you get your podcasts.
