Davy Fitzgerald won’t be interested about who Kilkenny might be missing as the Wexford boss fully recognises the stiff challenge facing his men in Sunday’s league semi-final at Innovate Wexford Park (2p.m.).

Wexford were in experimental mood when the sides clashed on March 11th last at Nowlan Park during the group-stages of the league – with Kilkenny pulling through by 0-22 to 0-19 – but the Cats had close to the strongest hand available to them right now.

Notable absentees in Brian Cody’s selection that afternoon from last year’s Leinster semi-final loss to Wexford were:

• goalie Eoin Murphy, who has been recovering from whip-lash, but who Cody confirms is back in the running for this Sunday’s game, although Darren Brennan has done little wrong in his absence;
• Richie Hogan, who laboured through last year’s championship as he continues to battle ongoing back problems centred around three bulging discs in the base of his back, which still keeps him sidelined;
• Paul Murphy and Colin Fennelly haven’t seen any action on Irish hurling fields yet this year as Corporal Murphy and Private Fennelly are presently stationed overseas on peacekeeping duties with the army, and they are not due home until May;
• Kieran Joyce has retired (along with Michael Fennelly and former captain Shane Prendergast, neither of whom featured last year at Wexford Park), and;
• Kevin Kelly, who was introduced as a substitute in the Wexford championship game last June, but who is out for a while yet after undergoing knee surgery sustained while aiding St. Patrick’s Ballyragget to the Leinster Club intermediate hurling title. He returned in February’s All-Ireland final loss to Kanturk (Cork), but has since gone under the knife.

Positional

Otherwise, prominent among some key positional alterations to the team which lost to Wexford last summer will be Pádraig Walsh’s positioning at full-back after he was rather peculiarly located on the half-forward line in last June’s Leinster semi-final. The Tullaroan-man has nailed down the no.3 shirt this year as he and current team captain Cillian Buckley, at no.6, have resolved the distinct lack of stability which had unsettled the spine of the Kilkenny defence since JJ Delaney’s departure.

Lester Ryan and Paddy Deegan were at midfield in last June’s championship game in Wexford, but Brian Cody is fancied to go with James Maher and Richie Leahy owing to the balance which they bring to that sector, as Wexford observers will undoubtedly recall from the more recent league encounter between the counties.

Pace

Maher packs plenty of pace, which is no surprise to those who know of the St. Lachtain’s man’s athletics career, as he was handy on the Cross-Country circuit – including registering a tidy 24minutes-14seconds in the All-Ireland Novice Juvenile Championships in Adamstown in 2012. His debut for Kilkenny in 2016 saw him score no less than 0-4 off Tipp’s Brendan Maher. But a freak farming accident shortly afterwards left James with a broken knee-cap which inhibited him until returning to formidable form this year. His expected centre-field colleague Richie Leahy also packs enormous energy and needs plenty of watching too having emerged from a dazzling minor career.

Under-21

Leahy is one of ten members from Kilkenny’s under-21 All-Ireland final runners-up last year to feature so far for the seniors this year, the others being Darren Brennan, Conor Delaney, Luke Scanlon, John Donnelly, Liam Blanchfield, Billy Ryan, Alan Murphy, Pat Lyng and Martin Keoghan.

It all goes to illustrate the wealth of stock at Kilkenny’s disposal as they eye up Wexford’s unbeaten competitive run at Innovate Wexford Park – which stretches back to a one-point league quarter-final loss to Waterford in 2016.