Cruciate knee injury confirmed for Tipperary's Patrick 'Bonner' Maher

The news that all Tipperary hurling supporters have dreaded has been confirmed - Patrick Bonner Maher must undergo cruciate knee ligament surgery following a serious injury picked up on Sunday afternoon last against Limerick.

The Lorrha Dorrha star underwent a scan late last night and his worst fears were confirmed. Bonner, who had been enjoying a tremendous spell of great form, crumbled in the 35th minute of the first half having landed awkwardly and was stretchered off, much to the horror of the Tipperary supporters. He was applauded off the field by Tipp and Limerick supporters who acknowledge and appreciated the kind of role he had been playing in making the Premier County attacking division tick.

Patrick Maher must now undergo surgery to repair the damage and he will not feature again until next season at least. Coincidentally, his Tipp colleague Brendan Maher also suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the final round of the round robin last year against Clare. And Bonner can take much consolation in the fact that Brendan returned to action and is flying it at the present time.  Conor Hammersley and Michael Cahill also suffered cruciate injuries in the last year and are in recovery mode, although Cahill received a serious setback when he broke his kneecap in a collision with a clubmate in training.