Tipperary manager Colm Bonnar has confirmed that John "Bubbles" O'Dwyer will miss their All Ireland Championship campaign.
The 2014 All Star had yet to feature for Tipp in the Allianz League, as a lingering knee injury meant he was omitted from Bonnar's panel.
Tipp begin their Munster Hurling Championship campaign three-weeks from Sunday against Waterford at Walsh Park, and will do so without O'Dwyer.
“I had a good chat with him," Bonnar told the Nenagh Guardian, "He just wasn’t one hundred percent physically and the injury left him too much of a gap to reach in time for championship.
Without O'Dywer, Tipp had an underwhelming league campaign, finishing fourth in Division 1B following defeats to both Kilkenny and Dublin.
Bonnar must also plan without Seamus Callanan for at least the games with Waterford and Clare, as the 2019 Hurler of the Year suffered a broken bone in his hand in training last week.
Allied to that the spate of retirements which flowed following last year's All Ireland quarter-final loss to Waterford, and Bonnar is conjuring a team from a comparatively unexperienced panel this season.
Addressing O'Dwyer's absence, Bonnar said, "It was frustrating for him as he really wanted to play for Tipperary and is a big loss to our set-up and options going forward."
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