Bonnar: Bubbles not ruled out for coming season

Tipperary manager Colm Bonnar says that John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer is not ruled out for the season, confirming that a still troublesome knee injury was the reason for his omission from the county's senior panel for the Allianz League.

O'Dwyer, a two-time All-Ireland winner, was absent from Tipp's 34-strong panel for the league, immediately sparking commentary that Bonnar had taken the unilateral decision to draw a line under the Killenaule forward's inter-county career.

However, speaking to Tipp FM's Across The Line programme last night, the Tipp boss clarified that Bubbles had been excluded due to his continued struggles with a knee injury.

"Who wouldn't like to have John on their panel? I’ve been talking to John since December. He’s having trouble with his knee and got it scanned," Bonnar told Tipp FM.

"He tried the knee out again in early January in a challenge and it was a lot worse than he thought. We’re back to square one where we need to work on it again.

"There’s no one ever ruled out and someone who has the skill level that 'Bubbles’ has and the experience that he has, it would be foolish to rule any player of that calibre out."

The 30-year-old O'Dwyer has been a fixture on Tipperary's championship side since 2013, winning All-Ireland titles in 2016 and 2019 along with an All-Star in 2014.