BLOW…Tyrone will be without Tiernan McCann for the rest of the league

Killyclogher clubman McCann sustained an injury to his knee in the closing seconds of Tyrone’s National league win in Newbridge and a MRI scan in Belfast on Monday afternoon has confirmed his worst fears. Red Hand manager Mickey Harte was naturally devastated to hear the news.

“The scan revealed that he has a crack to his kneecap and he is definitely out for the rest of the league,” said Harte.

“The best-case scenario is that he will be out for at least six to eight weeks and its awful news to hear. First of all for Tiernan himself as he has contracts to fulfil with his work so that is going to have a major impact.

“He had worked so hard to get back to full fitness after his hand injury last season and he is very unlucky for this to happen just as he was back to the level that he wanted to be at.

“It goes without saying that it is a major blow for Tyrone as he is a serious, serious operator for us, one of our key players. It takes the shine of our win on Sunday but as I said earlier it’s a bigger blow to Tiernan personally.”

McCann’s displays last season earned him a worthy National Allstar nomination but his year ended on a disappointing note when hand surgery saw him miss out on Killyclogher’s bid to retain the Tyrone Senior Championship title.