John Kiely has lost one decorated defender but gained another for Sunday’s critical Munster SHC group finale at home to Waterford.
Seán Finn limped off with a leg injury against Cork and now doesn’t make the Limerick match-day squad, but his absence is countered by the return of Mike Casey.
Casey was forced off during the opening minutes of Limerick’s SHC opener against Clare, but the Na Piarsaigh man now resumes at corner-back.
However, there is still no place in the match-day 26 for midfielder Darragh O’Donovan, who has yet to return from a calf injury.
The four-in-a-row All-Ireland champions have settled for just that one defensive change despite suffering that painful – and potentially costly – defeat to Cork at the death.
That result means another loss at the Gaelic Grounds, coupled with Clare avoiding defeat away to a struggling Tipperary, would see Limerick crash out of the championship without even making the All-Ireland series.
However, even a draw against Waterford will safeguard their passage to another Munster final.
Davy Fitzgerald has made one change to the Waterford team that endured an agonising late defeat to Clare for their climactic Munster SHC showdown with Limerick.
Shane Bennett impressed off the bench in Ennis, shooting 1-2 including an injury-time penalty, and he is now listed to start ahead of Patrick Curran in attack.
Former skipper Conor Prunty remains a notable injury absentee from the match-day 26 as Waterford go chasing a famous win that would secure their place in both the Munster final and All-Ireland series and imperil Limerick’s Drive for Five.
Elsewhere in Munster, with Tipperary already out of the All-Ireland race, manager Liam Cahill has responded to last Sunday’s second-half mauling from Cork by making seven changes to his starting team for Sunday’s Thurles date with Clare.
Experienced duo Noel McGrath and Jason Forde along with Conor Bowe, Eoghan Connolly, Bryan O'Mara and Darragh Stakelum all drop to the bench, while Cathal Barrett misses out altogether through injury.
There are first SHC starts for Paddy Cadell, Sean Kenneally and Andrew Ormond, along with call-ups for Johnny Ryan, Barry Heffernan, Bryan McGrath and Willie Connors.
Clare boss Brian Lohan is holding Tony Kelly in reserve – on paper at least – for Sunday’s trip to Tipp. The 2013 Hurler of the Year came off the bench last Sunday and squeezed home an important goal as the Banner just about withstood a spirited Waterford comeback.
David McInerney, a late cry-off from the team originally named against Waterford, is not in this weekend’s match-day squad.
In Leinster, Micheál Donoghue has named an unchanged Dublin line-up for their winner-takes-all Salthill showdown with Galway.
However, this is unlikely to dampen speculation that Cian O’Sullivan won’t start, given the hamstring injury suffered by the full-forward against Kilkenny last Saturday evening – and a subsequent interview in which he spoke of a “frustrating way to end your season, just as the ground is drying up.”
Kilkenny have been boosted by the return from injury of Adrian Mullen and Walter Walsh, who are both named in the match-day 26 for Sunday’s Leinster SHC derby date with Wexford.
Derek Lyng’s Cats are already guaranteed their spot in the All-Ireland series but will be keen for the victory (or draw) that would see them progress to another Leinster final.
Kilkenny U-20 stars Killian Doyle and Harry Shine join the experienced Walsh and Mullen on the bench as Kilkenny edge back towards full strength.
There are two announced changes from the team that started against Dublin, with Richie Reid and Billy Ryan promoted ahead of Shane Murphy and Owen Wall.
LIMERICK (SHC v Waterford) – N Quaid; M Casey, D Morrissey, B Nash; D Byrnes, D Hannon, K Hayes; W O’Donoghue, C O’Neill; G Hegarty, C Lynch, T Morrissey; A Gillane, S Flanagan, D Reidy. Subs: J Gillane, C Boylan, C Coughlan, A English, G Mulcahy, B Murphy, S O’Brien, A O’Connor, F O’Connor, D Ó Dálaigh, M Quinlan.
WATERFORD (SHC) – S O’Brien; K Bennett, I Daly, I Kenny; M Fitzgerald, T de Búrca, C Lyons; D Lyons, J Barron; Shane Bennett, J Prendergast, M Kiely; D Hutchinson, Stephen Bennett, K. Mahony. Subs: B Nolan, J fa*gan, M Power, P Curran, P Leavey, Pádraig Fitzgerald, Patrick Fitzgerald, P Hogan, N Montgomery, T Barron, W Hahessy.
TIPPERARY (SHC v Clare) – B Hogan; J Ryan, M Breen, C Morgan; B Heffernan, R Maher, B McGrath; P Cadell, W Connors; A Tynan, J Morris, S Kenneally; A Ormond, M Kehoe, G O’Connor. Subs: R Shelly, C Bowe, E Connolly, J Forde, P Maher, D McCormack, J McGrath, N McGrath, B O'Mara, C Stakelum, D Stakelum.
CLARE (SHC) – E Quilligan; A Hogan, C Cleary, R Hayes; D Ryan, J Conlon, C Galvin; D Fitzgerald, D Lohan; C Malone, M Rodgers, P Duggan; A McCarthy, S O’Donnell, D Reidy. Subs: C Broderick, C Leen, P Flanagan, S Morey, R Hayes, P Donnellan, I Galvin, A Shanagher, S Meehan, R Mounsey, T Kelly.
KILKENNY (SHC v Wexford) – E Murphy; M Butler, H Lawlor, T Walsh; D Blanchfield, P Deegan, M Carey; C Kenny, R Reid; J Donnelly, TJ Reid, T Phelan; M Keoghan, B Ryan, E Cody. Subs: A Tallis, S Murphy, C Delaney, C Buckley, C Fogarty, K Doyle, A Mullen, B Drennan, O Wall, W Walsh, H Shine.
WEXFORD (SHC) – M Fanning; S Reck, C Foley, E Ryan; L Ryan, D Reck, M O’Hanlon; C Hearne, C Dunbar; R Lawlor, L Chin, L Óg McGovern; M Dwyer, C McDonald, R O’Connor. Subs: A Duggan, S Donohoe, K Foley, C McGuckin, T Kinsella, D Carley, C Devitt, S Casey, C Byrne, N Murphy, J O’Connor.
GALWAY (SHC v Dublin) – D Fahy; J Grealish, Daithí Burke, F Burke; S Linnane, P Mannion, C Fahy; David Burke, R Glennon; G Lee, T Monaghan, J Cooney; C Whelan, C Cooney, E Niland. Subs: E Murphy, E Lawless, A Tuohey, S Cooney, G McInerney, D O’Shea, T Killeen, J Glynn, C Mannion, J Flynn, D McLoughlin.
DUBLIN (SHC) – S Brennan; J Bellew, E O’Donnell, P Smyth; C Crummey, C Donohoe, P Doyle; B Hayes, C Burke; D Sutcliffe, D Burke, S Currie; F Whiteley, C O’Sullivan, R Hayes. Subs: E Gibbons, J Madden, D Gray, S Gallagher, D Power, M Grogan, D Purcell, C Currie, P Crummey, J Malone, L Murphy.
ANTRIM (SHC v Carlow) – R Elliott; C Boyd, R McCloskey, P Burke; G Walsh, N O’Connor, E Campbell; M Bradley, K Molloy; N Elliot, J McNaughton, N McKenna; C Cunning, C McCann, S Elliott. Subs: T Smyth, P Duffin, S Rooney, S Walsh, A McGarry, S McKay, F McCurry, P Boyle, R McMullan, J McLaughlin, C McGarry.
CARLOW (SHC) – B Tracey; P Doyle, D Wall, C Lawlor; J Kavanagh, K McDonald, T Lawlor; J McCullagh, R Coady; C Nolan, C Whelan, M Kavanagh; C Kehoe, JM Nolan, J Doyle. Subs: C Abbey, P Boland, N Bolger, S Treacy, F Fitzpatrick, F O’Toole, E Kealy, L Doyle, P O’Shea, J Doyle, D Murphy.
