Brian Hogan hasn't given up hope on two of the recently-retired Cats returning to the fold.

James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick and John Dalton are amongst the Kilkenny players to have called time on their intercounty careers since last September's All-Ireland final but last year's All-Ireland winning captain believes there could be another twist, commenting in the Irish Times:

"There's no reason why not. Both of them are only 26, so it's very young. Look at what Cha won for his age, it's phenomenal, and it's the same with John. For whatever reason they decided that they wanted a break.

"Cha came straight through from minor and he never really had that year or two off so he has done a lot of hurling. You have to take in that he was hurling for a club like Ballyhale too, who have been very successful.

"He has done a huge amount of hurling. John has been there for a good few years too and he got his chance two years ago. He said if he's hurling well in the future he'd be delighted to come back."

As for life without the other retirees, the O'Loughlin Gaels clubman added:

"We were just saying it, there's a big change in the dressing-room. We've lost a lot of big characters, seasoned guys and senior players. In its own way that brings a bit of freshness because there are a lot of young guys there now, 19- and 20-years-old, experiencing it all for the first time. That's the nature of sport. It doesn't stand still.

"Talking to the boys that are gone over the last few weeks, they have nothing but great memories and great things to say about it. That hits home to the rest of us. We know we have to make the most of it because it's going to come to all of us eventually." Tweet

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