Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Brian Hayes, pictured going off injured in last Saturday night's game.James Lawlor/INPHO 'We all had a couple of sleepless nights' - Cork management relief over Hayes injury Fears that the St Finbarr’s forward had torn his cruciate were allayed after a scan earlier this week. 10.00am, 27 Mar 2025 Share options CORK HURLING COACH Donal O’Rourke has revealed their management’s collective relief that star forward Brian Hayes did not suffer a season-ending injury last Saturday against Galway. There were fears that Hayes had sustained a cruciate injury but a scan on Monday showed that he had not torn any ligaments. Hayes, who has been in brilliant goalscoring form this season, will miss Sunday week’s league final but is still on course to feature in the championship. “Very relieved, we all had a couple of sleepless nights over it,” stated O’Rourke. Advertisement “But thankfully for Brian and for the team, it’s just fantastic. We had a devastating blow at the start of the year with Pádraig Power so we were probably all hyper-sensitive after the incident with Brian. Pádraig’s looked very innocuous, and the result of it was very disappointing for Pádraig and for the group. “We were worried, especially when we saw the game back and we looked at what happened to Brian. You don’t like seeing a player going down with no one around him. It’s not generally a good sign. Fortunately when the results of the scan came through, it wasn’t the dreaded ACL. He’ll be on the sideline for a little bit but he’s in good hands.” Brian Hayes in action against Galway's Fintan Burke.James Lawlor / INPHO James Lawlor / INPHO / INPHO After their league final meeting with Tipperary, Cork play Clare in Munster on 20 April and then face Tipperary again on 27 April. The timeline for Hayes returning to action is still unclear. “It’s probably hard to say,” admitted O’Rourke. “But I’d say he’ll definitely see time in the Munster Championship. We’d be confident of that. Whether it be the Clare game first out, whether it be the Tipp game the week after or the Limerick or the Waterford games, I wouldn’t be sure. That’ll depend on how his rehab will go from here to then.” Hayes development since joining the Cork hurling setup at the outset of the 2023 season, having previously been with the county’s football side, has impressed O’Rourke. “Pat always had fierce time for him. He had him with the U20s and he was very, very confident that he could make it as a senior hurler. He had loads of untapped potential. First and foremost, he’s a huge man and he hadn’t filled his frame. He’s done massive work with Ian Jones, our S&C, to get to where he’s got to. “I suppose that probably stood to him, even with the injury at the weekend, he had the work done. But Pat always spoke so highly of Brian. He just felt that if he could get his hands on him and get him focused that he could make the jump up to be a real top-class player. Look, it’s not even that. He’s brilliant around the group as well. He’s becoming a real leader in that dressing room. He’s a great guy and a great player.” Cork hurling coach Donal O'Rourke.Bryan Keane / INPHO Bryan Keane / INPHO / INPHO Cork’s league final agianst Tipperary has sparked huge interest, the fixture is a sellout three weeks ahead of their championship meeting at the same venue. “It’s not surprising, to be honest, between ourselves and Tipp I’d say we’d have sold it out no problem anyway,” said O’Rourke. Related Reads Páirc Uí Chaoimh to host hurling league finals, Croke Park football deciders confirmed Hayes set to miss Cork's league final but no long-term injury suffered “Waterford and Offaly are obviously going to bring a crowd as well. It’s great for the players. They love playing in front of big crowds and they like that atmosphere and that cauldron. “It’s good for Tipperary as well. They’re getting down to play in the Páirc and they’re getting used to logistics and things like that, so they’ll be using it from that perspective. They’ll be well used to the surface and things like that after the 70 minutes of hurling.” Fintan O'Toole Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “'We all had a couple of sleepless nights' - Cork management relief over Hayes injury”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “'We all had a couple of sleepless nights' - Cork management relief over Hayes injury”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. Leave a Comment Submit a report Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines. Damaging the good reputation of someone, slander, or libel. 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