It has not been confirmed, but speculation suggests that the man considered to be the greatest hurler of them all will announce his retirement at a press conference tomorrow, ending an inter-county career that has yielded 10 All-Ireland titles, 13 Leinster championships, five national leagues, 11 All-Stars, and three Hurler of the Year awards.
Henry Shefflin's Kilkenny achievements are the stuff of modern legend and tonight Off The Ball were joined by two Cats greats, DJ Carey and JJ Delaney to share their anecdotes about him.
Off The Ball hurling analyst, DJ, recalled that the Ballyhale Shamrocks clubman joined the panel in 1999 with little fanfare.
"He wasn't coming with a massive reputation. Kilkenny hadn't won minor for a while and Henry had struggled a little bit underage," said DJ, who added that Shefflin was "still coming good" regardless of his past exploits.
"I know someone was saying that he was a bit overweight. But I can't remember him being too over-weight. But I do know from the minute that he arrived in that he was a serious man to work."
Tommy Walsh, Henry Shefflin and JJ Delaney ©INPHO/Donall Farmer
DJ cited "work-rate" as Shefflin's greatest attribute, while Delaney contributed other qualities.
"He had it all. He's a big man, he's very, very quick, a physical presence, very good off the right and left and he wanted the ball all the time," said Delaney, who also charted Shefflin's development into a leader in the dressing room.
DJ also recalled Shefflin being put on frees immediately in 1999 and said he felt "great" about that.
"What people don't realise is that I wasn't free-taker all up along. I was one of these guys who could have been in goal one day, outfield the next day. So I never took frees until senior," said DJ, who also recalled that Shefflin approached him to ask if he could take frees.
But as the Cats legend took on a more peripheral role last season, DJ believes Shefflin would not have been satisfied with the reduced game-time.
"I would have to think that Henry would have been disappointed with the amount of game-time he got in the championship last year. He may not say that publicly because that's the type of guy he is. I would've expected him to get more time," said DJ, who also touched on whether the 36-year-old would go into management.
"I know from my point of view, I wouldn't see myself as that great a manager. I wouldn't see myself as a ruthless person, making the really difficult decisions. I'm not sure do I see Henry as the same. I would see him as a magnificent coach but would he have the same ruthlessness as Brian [Cody], I'm not sure."
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