Kilkenny's 2006 All-Ireland winning captain Jackie Tyrrell has been ruled out of the Cats' opening Leinster SHC defence against Offaly on June 15. The All-Star corner back suffered a broken hand in a club game three weeks ago and is expected to be sidelined for at least another three weeks. The injury is a major blow to the All-Ireland champions who will also be without another key defender, James Ryall, who has a hamstring problem. On the plus side, Henry Shefflin is expected to feature for the first time since rupturing his cruciate ligament in last year's All-Ireland final, while Derek Lyng is close to recovering from the ankle injury which forced him to miss the entire National League. Tweet

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