WALTER WALSH WILL miss Kilkenny’s National Hurling League final date with Clare – and at least half of the Leinster championship.

The three-time All-Ireland winner has confirmed that he’s around half way through his recovery from a serious groin injury suffered in Round 3 of the league.

Walsh, who blasted 1-3 including a stunning solo goal in January’s All-Ireland club junior final win for Tullogher Rosbercon, suffered what he termed ‘a bit of separation from the bone’ during Kilkenny’s defeat of Offaly in late February.

He appeared as a substitute that day so hasn’t started for the Cats this year and said it’s unlikely he’ll feature again for the reigning provincial champions until Kilkenny’s fourth game in the Leinster group at best.

“It’s great to be looking forward to a league final, it’s a massive challenge against Clare but for myself I’m injured for maybe another four or five weeks,” said Walsh at the launch of the Leinster senior championships at Dublin’s Collins Barracks.

“I picked up an injury five or six weeks ago against Offaly. It’s just taking a bit of time, just a bit of separation from the bone.

“I’m lucky I didn’t need an operation on it really, just where it is on the top of the groin. Hopefully I’ll be back in another four or five weeks.

“I was just striking the ball, and maybe because I was a bit awkward, maybe that kind of came back at me! But yeah, just against Offaly I was striking the ball for goal and I loaded my groin and felt that something wasn’t right.

“It was rest for the first couple of weeks and then I’ve been doing rehab for the last few weeks. I went to see the specialist and thankfully I realised I didn’t need an operation.”

It’s the third year in a row that former All-Star Walsh, who burst onto the inter-county scene with 1-3 on his debut in the 2012 All-Ireland final replay win over Galway, has suffered a significant injury which has cost him game time.

Walter Walsh in action for Kilkenny against Limerick. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

“It is unfortunate, 2022 was my groin, last year it was my hamstring and it’s back to my other groin now,” he explained. “Look, there are players who have gone through far worse.”

Even without Walsh, Kilkenny will hope to regain the league title which they last won outright in 2018, sharing the title with Galway in 2021.

That would give them strong momentum ahead of their Leinster championship opener against Antrim on April 21.

Walsh said that he hasn’t taken any notice of those attempting to downplay the league and the value of a spring title.

“There are a lot of players on our team who haven’t got a National League medal,” he noted. “It’s a national final so it’s massive. You want to win it. This ‘only the league’ angle is kind of talked about but these are all games that teams are trying to win.

“It is a bit of a narrative that the Championship’s just around the corner but we’re playing Saturday, we’re not going to be thinking, ‘We’re playing Antrim in a couple of weeks,’ that’s not going to come into any conversation. And Clare aren’t going to be, ‘Well, we’re playing Limerick in two weeks’. They’re going out to win this game, I’m sure.”

Meanwhile, Wexford captain Lee Chin is back in full training and available for their provincial opener against Dublin on 21 April.

Talisman Chin battled a hamstring injury during the league and missed Wexford’s last two games against Waterford and Cork.

“I was only back the day of the Cork game, that was my three or four weeks of rehab done, but I just missed that game, it came a week too soon for me,” said Chin. “The following week I was back in full training and I’ve been in full training since.”