Dessie Farrell admits Con O'Callaghan and James McCarthy face "a race against time" to overcome their respective injuries as Dublin turn their attentions towards the All-Ireland SFC semi-finals in two weeks' time.
Farrell saw his side beat Cork 0-21 to 0-10 at Croke Park in Saturday's quarter-final but was without the duo due to hamstring injuries.
The Dubs will face the winner of Sunday's last-eight clash between Kerry and Mayo on 10 July but will be sweating over the availability of triple All-Star O'Callaghan and eight-time All-Ireland winner McCarthy.
"It's a tough one, obviously very disappointing for the lads," Farrell told RTÉ Sport after the victory over the Rebels. "Injuries, unfortunately, they're part and parcel of the landscape at this level,"
"Getting an injury at this time of year is very challenging because the games are coming thick and fast.
"In many ways, it's a race against time now so our medical team are doing everything possible to have both players available."
While Dublin face a shorter wait to discover their semi-final opponents, Farrell insisted that he had no preference between Kerry and Mayo, emphasising that both teams would present formidable foes.
"There's a major step up in class coming and the question for us is are we going to be ready for that," he said.
"We've come through, no disrespect to any opposition, we've had it relatively easy on this side and you're always conscious that you could potentially be sleepwalking into something.
"There's definitely a much bigger test coming in two weeks' time and let's hope we're ready for that."
Farrell also credited Cork for pushing his side close during the first-half - it was 0-10 to 0-07 at the midway point - before Dublin ran through the gears in the
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