Veteran Waterford star Tony Browne will make his first appearance of the year in Sunday's NHL clash with Galway at Dungarvan. Browne had hinted at retirement after last September's devastating All-Ireland final loss to Kilkenny, but returned to training three weeks ago and will see some action on Sunday. "Tony won't start the game, but we'll probably bring him on at some stage," Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald explained. "Tony came back to us in fantastic shape because he did a lot of work on his own before re-joining the panel. But that's the thing about Tony - he's very professional in his approach." Fitzgerald has confirmed that Clinton Hennessy will return in goal in place of Aidan Power, who impressed on his debut last weekend, while former ex-captain Michael 'Brick' Walsh will also be available after making a quick recovery from a leg injury he sustained in the defeat to Dublin. The former Clare goalkeeper will welcome back his De La Salle players, John Mullane, Kevin Moran and Bryan Phelan, to training on Thursday night, but added that they won't play any part against the Tribesmen. "We deliberately avoided rushing them back, as they've had a long season, and we didn't want them to lose their appetite for the game," he said. Not surprisingly, Fitzgerald will be looking for an improvement on the Parnell Park performance. "Even when we beat Clare and Kilkenny, I felt that we had still some way to go to be at a decent level," he said. "And it's not going to be easy against Galway. They will be boosted by the win over Limerick, and they'll have their Portumna lads back." Tweet

Most Read Stories