Mark Poland was taken to hospital after receiving a nasty eye injury in the warm-up before Down's Allianz League Division 2 final defeat to Roscommon.

Manager Jim McCorry admitted that losing the playmaker so close to throw-in was a huge blow to the Mournemen.

"We lost Mark Poland in the warm-up, just before we got into the huddle," he explained.

"It was a bad injury and Mark had to go the hospital. Our thoughts are with him at the moment. It's more important than winning the game, in the end.

"Mark has been fantastic this year. He has been back to his old self again, deliverer of the ball, sets everything up on that inside left line. Great leader. So, that interrupted us a wee bit.

"He actually got struck in his right the eye with the ball full force and we were concerned about the vision.

"The doctors were called in and assessed him straight away and we had to make an adjustment straight away, so that probably upset us a wee bit. Just (in terms of) the balance of the team and the adjustments to what we had tried in training."

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