Tipperary's Munster Championship opener may come to soon for one of last year's All-Stars.
The All-Ireland champions play Cork in Semple Stadium on May 21st, but they may have to do so without Patrick Maher. 'Bonner' missed the Allianz League campaign for Tipperary after spending six months with the Irish army on peacekeeping duty in Golan Heights.
An All-Star in two of the last three years, Maher injured himself playing for Lorrha-Dorrha, and manager Michael Ryan hopes the 27-year-old will be fit for the game against Cork.
"Too soon for Bonner Maher in terms of diagnosis," Ryan told GAA.ie on Monday at the Munster Championship launch.
"He did go off with a hamstring strain. The extent of that is not known right now. He was being seen today by our physio, but it does take 24 to 48 hours to assess properly and get a proper assessment on it. There is certainly a question mark about Bonner right now. But we really don't know."
While Tipperary coped without the forward for the league campaign, the loss of the 27-year-old would be seen as a major blow for Tipperary's bid to retain their Munster Championship.
Last year, Tipperary and Cork also met in the Munster quarter-finals. The eventual All-Ireland champions won that match by nine points in Semple Stadium.
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