Christopher Joyce has suffered a second cruciate ligament injury and is facing at least nine months on the sidelines.
The Cork hurler sustained the injury while playing for his club Na Piarsaigh in the RedFM Senior Hurling League against Bride Rovers. It was the 27-year old's first game back with his club since Cork's exit at the hands of Kilkenny in the All Ireland Hurling quarter-finals.
The injury is to Joyce's left knee, and comes just over 4-years since he tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee during an Allianz Hurling League meeting with Dublin.
Joyce's previous absence saw him miss 11-months of inter-county action.
Speaking about Joyce's injury, Na Piarsaigh selector Bill Kelleher told EchoLive, "We are gutted for him in the club. Obviously, first and foremost for himself and he’s a huge loss for us in our championship plans.
"You’d be shattered for him, especially as it’s the second time but we’ll be there for him in the recovery process."
An optimistic nine-month recovery period would likely rule Joyce out action for Cork until late April at the earliest.
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