KILKENNY’S Hurler of the Year Michael Fennelly will be in a race against time to regain fitness for the All-Ireland champions’ Leinster semi-final, likely to be against Dublin on June 23rd.

Fennelly injured his ankle in the convincing league final victory over Cork on Sunday and was stretchered off early in the second half, leaving manager Brian Cody pessimistic in the aftermath.

“He went over on his ankle. I don’t know how badly yet, but to go off straight away without trying it at all would suggest it is not too good. We just hope it won’t be too serious.”

According to club sources yesterday evening, the Ballyhale All Star centrefielder has damaged a bone in his foot and will be out for “between four and six weeks”.

Although the club will have to do without Fennelly for upcoming fixtures against Dunamaggin and St Martin’s, he has a fighting chance of being restored for the county’s first championship appearance next month. This is the second week in succession that Kilkenny have survived a serious injury scare.

The previous weekend All Star forward Richie Power injured his knee playing for Carrickshock but despite fears that he had damaged a cruciate ligament, scans revealed the problem to be a cartilage and he was also given a recovery time of four to six weeks.

Meanwhile, the new Central Competitions Control Committee (CCCC) meets for the first time this evening and will consider the resubmitted transfer request of Cavan’s Seán Johnston, who wishes to play for Kildare.

The player hopes that with fresh documentary proof of his move in residence from Cavan to Straffan in Kildare – something that the previous CCCC deemed inadequately evidenced – the move can go ahead.

It is, however, still possible that the request will be turned down on general ethical grounds – the undesirability of allowing effectively free movement of players.

Should that happen, the issue will almost certainly end up being appealed – if necessary as far as the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA).

This particular saga has been running for most of the year.

Johnston was last year omitted from the Cavan panel of manager Val Andrews, who has since resigned. An initial attempt to switch to Kildare without leaving his club, Cavan Gaels was dismissed because there’s no such thing as a county transfer.

In response Johnston sought to transfer from his club Cavan Gaels to St Kevin’s in Kildare.

This was turned down because in essence the CCCC didn’t believe the player, who continues to work in Cavan, had established the change of residence to their satisfaction.

There was a further reservation in the final decision and it was leaked to the Irish Independent: “Concerns were expressed that even had permanent residency been satisfactorily demonstrated, the primary, if not sole, purpose of this residency appeared from the evidence gathered to be to enable the player to play intercounty football with a county to which he could claim no obvious allegiance.

“This, in the opinion of the committee, was in itself, contrary to the association’s ethos as outlined in rule.”

Johnston’s desire to make the move hasn’t abated and he was photographed the weekend before last sitting with the Kildare bench at the Division Two football league final.

His new application is based on various documents such as utility bills, toll receipts and a lease but both the Cavan County Board and the Cavan Gaels club, which reluctantly backed the previous application, oppose the move.

The new CCCC will have to move carefully on this, as any procedural errors would probably end up in Johnston’s request being granted regardless of what the committee decides.

On the substance of the matter, however, it is believed that the DRA would allow a decision based on grounds of ethos.

In the case taken by the Clonguish club in Longford to the GAA’s arbitration body three years ago, the issue wasn’t fully considered because of what were deemed technical deficiencies on the part of the authorities.

But the interim decision (the final decision awaited an order of costs) appears to back the view that the GAA authorities are entitled to adjudicate on transfers as a matter of discretion rather than a simple process of ticking boxes to prove a change of residence.

Former Cork hurling All Star Setanta Ó hAilpín has ruptured a cruciate ligament when playing for his new AFL club Greater Western Sydney.

The 2003 Young Hurler of the Year sustained the injury – coincidentally against his former team Carlton – at the weekend and scans yesterday confirmed the damage.