Kelly will recover in time for Munster football final

STEPHEN Kelly will be back in contention for a place on the Limerick senior football team for next month’s Munster final.
The speedy wing-forward is expected to get the cast removed from his hand this week and resume training ahead of the July 5 decider.
The Newcastle West man missed Limerick’s wins over Clare and Tipperary after sustaining a broken bone in his hand while assisting Shannon to their All-Ireland League final win over Clontarf.
Stephen Kelly played with Limerick in the Munster football finals of 2003 and 2004 as did Stephen Lucey and Mark O’Riordan.
Before the Croom dual players can concentrate on the football final, they will line out with Justin McCarthy’s hurlers this coming Sunday in Semple Stadium, Thurles against Waterford.
The team for Sunday’s (4pm) semi-final is expected to be announced after training on Tuesday night.
Limerick are awaiting fitness reports on Mike O’Brien (broken hand), Seamus Hickey (shoulder), David Breen (hamstring) and Gavin O’Mahony.
Meanwhile Limerick senior football manager Mickey Ned O’Sullivan has no preference for his side’s opponents in next month’s football final.
“We are in the final and we are the only team in the final. Who knows what will happen in the final,” he said after the final whistle in Cusack Park, Ennis yesterday.
“I have no preference - we will have to beat whoever comes out,” explained the Kerry native.
The Limerick manager said that the back-to-back wins over Tipperary and Clare had made amends for the poor league performance.
“We didn’t put an awful lot of emphasis on the league and we had felt that we had slipped up last year when not getting to the Munster final,” said Mickey Ned O’Sullivan.
“The draw favoured us this year in that we avoided Kerry and Cork and we are there now. It’s a victory for the football people of Limerick, who never threw in the towel, for the players who believe in themselves, for the management team of a great coach and great selectors and it’s a victory for the underdog.”

Jerome O'Connell