Kerry star Colm Cooper could face up to a year out of the game after it was confirmed that he ruptured a cruciate in his right knee playing for Dr Crokes in Saturday's All-Ireland club semi-final defeat against Castlebar Mitchels.
The 30-year-old forward went off after 22 minutes of the game at O’Moore Park in Portlaoise after suffering the injury just after scoring his second point of the game. Crokes went on to lose their third straight semi-final, with Castlebar running out easy winners on a scoreline of 3-13 to 1-11.
Cooper underwent a scan in Dublin this morning after which the Kerry County Board released a brief statement.
It read: “A scan in the Santry Sports Clinic today has revealed that Colm Cooper has ruptured his cruciate ligament. He will undergo surgery in due course.
“Kerry GAA wishes our Senior Football Captain a full and speedy recovery.”
Cooper has played in every Kerry Championship game since making his debut in 2002 and his absence means manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice faces further disruption to his planning ahead of the summer.
Paul Galvin announced his retirement from inter-county football on the night of Kerry's opening National League defeat to Dublin, while Kerry stalwarts Tomás Ó Sé and Eoin Brosnan retired at the end of last season.
The standard period of rehabilitation after a cruciate operation is nine months with a number of other high-profile players having made successful returns after undergoing surgery.
Kilkenny hurler Henry Shefflin has had two cruciate operations, while Cork footballer Colm O'Neill has undergone three operations.
