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The Leitrim footballers will not field a team for their Division 3 clash against Fermanagh in Pairc Sean Ui Eslin in Ballinamore tomorrow due to an injury crisis in the camp and commitments to their Under-20 team.

Twelve footballers have been hit with soft tissue injuries and a number of players have either retired or emigrated to Australia, meaning the squad is down substantial numbers.

Leitrim's U20s play Galway in the Connacht championship on Wednesday and though there is no rule preventing their six dual panellists from lining out in both games, team management and county officials feel there is no choice other than to give a walkover tomorrow.

It will still come as a major shock to Leitrim football people that this decision has now been reached.

Two weeks ago, Leitrim had only 22 players togged out for action against Offaly but for tomorrow's game only 16 players would have been togging out.

The injury list includes the county's two first-choice goalkeepers, who are also unavailable due to recent head injuries.

Their situation hasn't been helped by having one match postponed earlier in the league, which meant Leitrim had to play five games in a row. It highlights the impact of so many games in difficult weather and pitch conditions on counties with small or limited playing numbers.

This Allianz League campaign has been a difficult one for Leitrim, with approximately 20 out of the 32-man panel experiencing inter-county football for the very first time.

According to Steven Poacher, who has been involved in many county teams, this is the first such occurrence of an event of this magnitude that he is aware of. Leitrim are bottom of Division 3 having played five games already, losing them all.

On the decision to forfeit the