A shot at redemption is available for Tipperary hurlers in Tullamore

The results of last weekend’s Munster and Leinster Senior Hurling Championship finals have brought clarity to Tipperary’s possible pathway through the business end of the championship.

First up is this Saturday’s preliminary quarter-final against Offaly at Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore, a game that will get underway at 4pm and will be shown live on GAAGO.

If Tipp are successful they will play Leinster final runners-up Galway (whose sloppy defending allowed them to be pipped at the post by Kilkenny in the Leinster final) in the quarter-final on the following weekend, June 24-25.

A win in that game would earn them a rematch with Limerick (who scored a narrow win over Clare in the provincial final) in the All-Ireland semi-final on Saturday July 8.

However, no team approaching a preliminary quarter-final can afford to get too far ahead of themselves and Tipperary can’t look beyond this weekend’s meeting with the Joe MacDonagh Cup runners-up on their home patch.

They go into the game on the back of a sound beating by Waterford in their final group game in the Munster championship almost three weeks ago.

The signs had been very encouraging up to then, with a win over Clare and draws against Cork and Limerick in the opening rounds.

However, the wheels came off the wagon against Waterford, and they will need to rediscover the form of their previous games if they are to justify their warm order favouritism this Saturday.

Their absence from the Munster final may have been a blessing in disguise.

True, they might have sailed close to the wind when their defeat by Waterford meant that their future in the championship hinged on the outcome of the Limerick/Cork game. Their progression was only confirmed when the final whistle blew at the end of a closely-contested game in Limerick, as their fate hung in the balance.

A third place finish in the group may have consigned them to taking this circuitous route, but on the plus side it allowed them to step away from the brutal, unforgiving nature of the Munster championship, and allowed minds and bodies to heal before they pick up the pieces again this weekend.

Injury meant that Liam Cahill’s team were deprived of the services of Jason Forde and Jake Morris, two of their marquee forwards, when they played Waterford. Fingers all around the county will be crossed in the hope that both players can return to the starting fifteen, or at the very least the match day panel, against Offaly.

Cathal Barrett was another absentee through injury in that last game and the corner back’s return would be another major boost.

Another defender, Craig Morgan, is also understood to be close to a return to action, while Niall O’Meara has also returned to the fold from an injury-enforced lay-off.

On the debit side, Brian McGrath is ruled out with a punctured lung, sustained in the game against Waterford, while Gearoid O’Connor, who damaged his ankle in the same game, is doubtful.

Limerick referee Johnny Murphy will be in charge of Saturday’s game.

If necessary extra-time will be played and the game will finish on the day.