Henry Shefflin says the return of Eoin Larkin to the Kilkenny hurling panel is "massive" and praised the mentality of the forward after returning from injury.
Larkin featured for club side James Stephens in his first game since returning from UN peacekeeping duty in Syria and notched 0-7 on course to a four point victory.
"I think he’s massive," said Shefflin. "Brian [Cody] has great faith in him. We talk a lot about systems and stuff like that, but Eoin brings savage work rate in corner forward and travels out to work an awful lot. He put a lot of pressure on defence. He is a big, big player.
"Even moreso this year with Richie Power not there and Ger Aylward with the cruciate. Having a specialised corner-forward for Kilkenny is very important. He’s a massive player and a massive leader. We all saw him in the All-Ireland final with that workrate last year."
The eight-time All-Ireland winner – who didn’t feature in Kilkenny's league campaign - is likely to return for the Leinster Championship semi-final against Dublin or Wexford on June 11.
"That’s what he brings to the game. He is a great man travelling with the ball as well. It is great to have him back. He was away overseas but with the warm weather over there he had plenty of time to train so I would imagine he is probably in good condition and looking forward to the championship good and fresh."
"He was hurler of the year in 2008 and he levels of performances have been massive. To be honest, we go watch him and he's one of the best club hurlers in the county. That's the level of consistency he brings to it.
"He is very strong mentally. He broke his thumb last year and I remember sending him a message wishing him the best and hoping he would get back and he said 'I will be back'. That was his message in his reply so mentally he is very strong.
"He didn’t play for two or three months after with that thumb and then he played in an All-Ireland final like that. Some players, like myself, might think ‘Jeez, I’m not playing’, but he is mentally very strong."
Henry Shefflin, Seamus Hickey, Podge Collins and Austin Gleeson were at Centra’s Live Well hurling launch in CLG Na Fianna which included the announcement that the retailer will continue its sponsorship of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship up to 2019. As part of this year’s campaign Centra has introduced a series of #GetActive hurling challenges to encourage fans of all ages to pick up a hurl, test their skills and upload their videos to win big prizes. For more information on how to take part go to www.centra.ie or follow Centra Ireland on social media.
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