Kerry defender Peter Crowley’s season is over after he suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury last weekend.
Crowley was on duty for his club Laune Rangers against Castleisland Desmonds when the injury occurred and it will be 2020 before he returns to action.
He has been one of Kerry’s more consistent defenders in recent seasons and featured in all eight League games this year as Peter Keane’s side lost the final of the competition to Mayo.
Although they were very much second best in that final, Kerry’s defensive record improved dramatically over the course of the spring after a number of years where it was seen as their Achilles heel and Crowley’s loss is a considerable one for Keane.
Indeed, he even got up the field to fist the winning point in the pulsating clash with All-Ireland champions Dublin in Tralee on February 9.
Meanwhile, Longford’s Donal McElligott will be suspended for his county’s opening Championship game against Wicklow or Kildare on May 26.
McElligott was issued with a red card in the defeat to Westmeath on March 24 and subsequently requested a hearing though the Central Hearings Committee endorsed the referee’s decision and imposed a one-match ban.
The player has the option of taking his case to the Central Appeals Committee.
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