St Thomas' must do without Kenneth Burke for the AIB All-Ireland Club Hurling Championship final against Ballyhale Shamrocks on St. Patrick's Day.
Burke revealed that a clash during the semi-final win against Cushendall last month ended in a serious hamstring injury that has required surgery.
He told RTÉ Sport: "I tore tendons off the bone. I knew straight away it was gone and that it was a bad injury. Since then I’ve had surgery and it’s a long road to recovery.
"The guys have been training away and I’ve been rowing in behind them, trying to get them ready for the game.
"You know when you are playing how bad the injury is. I knew straight away it wasn’t good. It was confirmed two days later and yes it’s disappointing. It’s not just this year but down through the years trying to get to these days. You don’t want to miss them.
"It’ll be getting harder now as it gets closer, knowing you are going to miss it.
"I have to keep the head up because it’s not just about me. It’s about the whole panel and parish who have rowed in behind us.
"We won our first county title in 2012 and since then it has been a bit of a roller coaster ride for a lot of the guys here.
"We’ve been fortunate with the groups we have had. Hopefully we’ll be successful on Paddy’s Day."
Burke said he will give players advice in training as he sits the sidelines as a key member of the panel.
"I suppose I’m the most experienced player and I’ve seen good days and bad. I’ll be keeping the head tuned in and hopefully I can give a bit of advice on the day."
The St Thomas' man believes his team should not be any way in awe of the great names that are associated with Ballyhale.
He concluded: "They won’t fear us and we won’t fear them. We have plenty of ability in our team as well. It is two good hurling teams so hopefully it’ll be a good game.
"The two teams will go out and hurl and hopefully it might be a good day and a good game of hurling.
"We need a massive [improvement] over 70 minutes."
