Patrick ‘Bonner’ Maher will miss the rest of this year's All-Ireland Championship after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during Sunday's 1-22 to 0-21 win over Limerick, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
Dan McCormack was called in to replace Maher just before half-time at Thurles as the Tipp wing-forward went down clutching his right knee.
The two-time All-Ireland winner has been a crucial part of the Premier county's march to the Munster final as they recorded four wins from four during the initial round robin to book a re-match with Limerick latter this month.
Now he faces an extended spell on the sidelines, with ACL injuries needing anywhere between six and 12 months of recovery time.
And they could also be without Cathal Barrett on June 30, with Tipp confirming that the right corner-back would undergo a scan later today to discover the extent of the injury his suffered at the weekend.
In a statement released on Twitter, Tipperary said:
"Following a late Monday evening scan the injury news for Patrick Maher has confirmed he has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
"Cathal Barrett will undergo a scan later this evening to access his injury and a further update should be known later tonight."
Losing two starters at this time of year would be a huge blow to Tipperary, who are the only side to have won all of their games in this year's Championship. Patrick Maher's absence will be felt particularly strongly as the two-time All-Star has been one of the stand out players of the summer.
Tipp boss Liam Sheedy has already admitted that it is "highly unlikely" that Barrett will be fit for the Munster final after the 25-year-old hobbled off on Sunday with an apparent hamstring injury.
The Premier are expected to issue a further update later tonight, with their Munster final showdown with the defending All-Ireland champions little under a fortnight away.
