Key forward McCormack out for 4 weeks after suffering muscle tear in U21 loss

Kildare have been dealt a blow with the confirmation that corner-forward Ben McCormack will miss at least four weeks of action after tearing his hamstring during last week’s U21 Leinster Championship defeat to Longford.

The Sarsfields attacker had missed the Lilywhites National League clash with Derry in Celtic Park on the Sunday beforehand as he sat the tie out due to a hamstring strain, and he was then replaced at half-time during the U21 game against the Midlanders on Wednesday night. Kildare senior manager Cian O’Neill confirmed after the weekend win over Fermanagh that he will be without McCormack for at least four weeks, but he remains hopeful that the 2016 Kildare Senior Club Footballer of the Year may be able to feature in the final league game against Galway on April 2.

Chris Healy has prospered in his place however, scoring a goal in each of his starts against Derry and Fermanagh, while he also scored a point and set up Daniel Flynn for a second half goal against the latter.

Another injury concern following the weekend win over Fermanagh is Kevin Feely who limped off towards the end of the first half with a calf injury. O’Neill said that they are hopeful that it is nothing too serious and he said that the injury would be assessed in days following the game.

Aside from those two injuries, O’Neill was able to report a full bill of health in the initial aftermath of the game, with Paul Cribbin coming through over an hour after missing the game against Derry seven days earlier.