Galway facing anxious wait over Hanley’s knee setback

LONG-SERVING Galway defender Finian Hanley faces an anxious wait to discover the extent of a potentially serious knee injury that he sustained at training last week.

Hanley, who has undergone scans, will be hoping to avoid a cruciate ligament tear that could potentially bring his inter-county career to an end.

The Salthill-Knocknacarra man (above) has been peripheral over the last 12 months but has been working hard to put himself back in the picture with Declan Kyne taking over for last year’s championship.

An All-Ireland U-21 winner in 2005, the 32-year-old has been ever-present in the Galway squad since the mid-2000s.

A potential replacement for Hanley, Sean Andy Ó Ceallaigh, has declined an invitation to join the Galway senior squad, opting to go to the US for the summer instead. Ó Ceallaigh had a magnificent All-Ireland U-21 final against Dublin last week, dealing efficiently with the threat posed by Dublin dangerman Con O’Callaghan.

Another U-21 player Peter Cooke, who had been part of the senior squad, is also understood to be heading Stateside.

But there is better news surrounding former star forward Michael Meehan who returned to the squad after a two-year absence because of ongoing ankle ligament trouble.

Meehan – who originally stepped away in March 2015 after a long battle with various injuries – never officially shut the door on his inter-county career and made a quick impact with an impressive show against Westmeath in a challenge game prior to injuring his ‘good’ ankle.

But the Caltra forward has since recovered and is plotting his own preparation path that is being tailored to make some impact later in the year.