Henry Shefflin is resigned to missing his first championship match since 1999 after his recovery from a foot injury suffered a setback.

The nine-time All-Ireland winner has started 62 consecutive matches for the Cats since making his debut against Laois in 1999 - the same day as Brian Cody took charge of Kilkenny in the championship for the first time - but after picking up a stress fracture on his already injured left foot, he admits time is against him if he is to be fit to line out against Offaly at O'Connor Park on June 9.

"The match is four-and-a-half weeks away or something like that at this stage. To be honest, I need to get it right more than anything else, and that's the plan," Shefflin told the Irish Examiner at a Lucozade promotional event yesterday.

"Obviously, the foot is just not ready. I was training with the club and everything on Monday night but it was feeling a bit sore. There's no point in taking a risk.

"It's the early stages of a stress fracture which is good, there's no crack or anything. It's just resting up for a few weeks and, hopefully, then bang on again. That's the plan."

Shefflin, who has come back from two cruciate ligament injuries in the past, continued: "This one has been slow, there's no doubt about it. It's definitely a frustrating injury. As well as that, it's frustrating because you're feeling it a bit in everyday life.

"It is frustrating but, if you asked me this time last week, I'd have said 'ah, no, it's not too bad'. But, unfortunately this week it's a bit different."

Now back wearing a 'space boot', the Ballyhale man also revealed that he suffered a bout of pneumonia after undergoing the first of two procedures on his foot in February.

"I think it was after the operation maybe, just the body was a bit weak and picked up a cold and it turned into pneumonia. So I was in hospital then for a few days.

"It's been interesting! But I'm fine actually, just rested up for a while - I wasn't feeling great before, and I think it was just my body was probably a bit weak." Tweet

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