Kilkenny county board chairman Ned Quinn has spoken about the devastating news that JJ Delaney is set to miss the All-Ireland saying it's a 'hurling tragedy' to see the inspirational defender miss out. Delaney broke down in training Friday night and is defiantly out of the hurling showpiece after it was revealed he suffered cruciate damage. "Yes, we have plenty of hurlers, but we don't have plenty of JJ Delaney's. On any team you could lose one or two lads and be able to replace them without any disruption, but the like of JJ Delaney are special. "What if Cork lost Ronan Curran, or one of the O'Connor twins or Sean Og? They have lads to come in but would they be of the same standard? "It's a different kettle of fish when one of your key men is gone," said a disappointed Quinn. "We won't find anyone as good as JJ, but we'll have to fill the gap anyway. The only other loss to compare with would be to lose Henry (Shefflin), be because they are up there with the top players in the country." Quinn described how the injury came out of nothing but most knew it was serious when the injury occurred. "It happened very simply. He just turned to follow the ball, his body went one way his legs went the other. "He heard the crack. We knew straight away, we all ran in but what could we do," explained Quinn. "It is a devastating blow to himself, a devastating blow for the team and devastating for his club also." Tweet

Most Read Stories