Lorcán McLoughlin injury blow for Cork

Cork defender Lorcán McLoughlin suffered a dislocated shoulder playing for his club Kanturk on Sunday night, and is unlikely to feature in the Rebels' Munster Championship as a result.

The 25-year-old was forced off in Kanturk's Cork Intermediate Hurling Championship Round 1 defeat to Castlelyons last evening and a statement from Cork GAA on Monday afternoon stated that McLoughlin "will be unavailable for selection for the foreseeable future".

McLoughlin will meet his orthopaedic surgeon shortly, and will begin his recuperation with a view to returning at some stage before the end of the 2015 championship.

Depending on the severity of the injury, McLoughlin could be facing an uphill battle to play again for the Rebels in 2015. If any muscles, ligaments or tendons are torn or damaged in the affected shoulder area, it will extend his period of absence.

A dislocated shoulder in itself can take anything from 10 weeks to four months to heal, and that means McLoughlin's earliest return date would be the end of July, by which time the All-Ireland semi-finals would be about to take place.

Cork face Waterford on June 7 in the Munster Senior Hurling Championship semi-final, with the Munster final scheduled for July 12.