The news that George Hannigan is out for the season has cast a shadow over Tipperary's preparations for the visit of Louth.

A groin injury sustained in the Munster SFC semi-final defeat to Kerry has brought the curtains down on the midfielder's championship campaign but, on recent form, Peter Creedon's charges should still have enough in reserve to clear the Louth hurdle.

They prevailed on a scoreline of 4-16 to 3-11 when the sides met in Division 3 in Drogheda back in March.

U21's Jimmy Feehan, Ian Fahey, Liam Casey and Kevin O'Halloran have been drafted in by manager Creedon to replace Robbie Kiely, Stephen O'Brien, Hannigan and Ger Mulhaire.

Louth boss Colin Kelly, meanwhile, has kept faith with the team that scored a 1-16 to 0-11 win over Leitrim in Round 1B.

That means there is no place for Conor Grimes who made such a big impact when scoring 1-1 off the bench that day in Drogheda.

Verdict - Tipperary.

Tipperary team: Evan Comerford; Ciarán McDonald, Paddy Codd, Jimmy Feehan; Seamus Kennedy, Peter Acheson, Alan Campbell; Colin O'Riordan, Ian Fahey; Brian Fox, Conor Sweeney, Liam Casey; Kevin O'Halloran, Michael Quinlivan, Philip Austin.

Louth team: Craig Lynch; Padraig Rath, Dessie Finnegan, Anthony Williams; Declan Byrne, Darren O'Hanlon, Adrian Reid; Tommy Durnin, James Califf; Bevan Duffy, Paraic Smith, Conal McKeever; Ryan Burns, Colm Judge, Ronan Holdcroft.

Match details: Saturday; Semple Stadium; 2.45pm; extra-time playable.

Referee: Rory Hickey.

Odds: Tipperary 1/10; Draw 14/1; Louth 7/1.

Tweet

Most Read Stories