Limerick to be without Diarmaid Byrnes for a “few weeks” with the Hurler of the Year traveling

The Patrickswell man broke the record for most points scored by a defender in a single championship last season.

Limerick manager John Kiely has confirmed that Limerick will be without Hurler of the Year Diarmaid Byrnes for a couple of weeks with the Patrickswell man traveling.

As reported late last year, the three-time All-Star will not feature in the early rounds of the League which begins on the first weekend of February.

Kiely confirmed that Byrnes returned to training prior to his travels with the break pre-arranged. The Limerick manager spoke of the importance of allowing players these experiences with Byrnes a key cog in Limerick’s three-in-a-row where he picked up an All-Star in each season.

Speaking on the decision, Kiely discussed the benefit to both parties.

“Diarmaid is away for a while now, hopefully we will see him in a few weeks time again. That was all pre arranged, we had all that agreed. These guys have to live their lives too, we don’t own them! Hurling is a past time for these guys, not a profession so he’s just gone away for a short while but he will be back.

“We have to have a very open mind about that sides of fellas lives. We can’t inhibit them having life experiences outside of hurling. We encourage them to have these experiences and when they come back, they are all the fresher, all the happier and that’s really important for me.”

The Limerick manager did provide a positive update on both Mike Casey and Cian Lynch with the latters’ recovery fully complete according to the Galbally man. A club mate of Byrnes, Lynch was the hurler of the year in 2021 but missed the majority of last year’s championship owing to back-to-back injuries.

In the second round of the Munster championship, Lynch hobbled off with a hamstring issue after nine minutes and didn’t return to action until the final 20 minutes of the All-Ireland semi-final. In the build-up to the All-Ireland final with Kilkenny, Lynch hurt his ankle which then needed surgery.

Casey went over his knee against Ballygunner in the Munster club semi-final but after rupturing his ACL in 2020, the new injury isn’t as bad as first feared, although Casey did need a “minor procedure” with Kiely confirming his recovery “is on track.”

Limerick take on Kerry in the second round of the Munster Hurling League this Sunday after the game was changed from tonight. Both sides are eliminated from the reckoning with the Tralee clash acting as a final warm-up for Limerick prior to the League kick-off on February 4 in Pairc Ui Chaoimh.