Ballyhale Shamrocks have been boosted by the news that James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick will be fit to start Sunday's AIB All-Ireland Club Hurling semi-final against Portumna at Semple Stadium, throw-in 2.30pm.
Manager Maurice Aylward, speaking to RTÉ Sport, confirmed that the three-times All Star midfielder has overcome a virus and will be ready to face the Galway giants.
Aylward revealed: 'Cha Fitzpatrick will be fit for Sunday. Cha is back training for the last two weeks and his fitness levels have increased immensely. He is a sharp player, he is a first touch player, his hurling is first class and it doesn't take Cha long to get fit and Cha will be flying it next Sunday.
Fitzpatrick admitted: 'I had a bit of a setback with a virus. I had the mumps for a while and I was very weak after it.
'My blood levels were all wrong so I have to monitor it for a while. I am just coming right now and I know I’ve a lot of catching-up to do fitness-wise.'
Sunday's encounter between two of the recent giants of the club game is one to be relished, a point not lost on the Kilkenny man.
He said: 'We have escaped each other up to now so this is the battle that a lot of people have been waiting for so next Sunday is the day for that game.'
Aylward insists that motivation, or lack thereof, will not be a factor for his all-conquering side: 'It's not difficult to motivate the players because basically the players I'm dealing with in their own mind they're all winners, both with their club and with county.'
However, preparation has been far from ideal as the Ballyhale men cope with training in poor weather conditions for club and county.
Aylward admitted: 'It's not satisfactory, it's a terrible drain on players and in heavy conditions and hardship. We got a bit of a break naturally over Christmas but then when we got back to training again we're playing in muck and slush and snow and frost, the whole lot. Now, needless to say the county team is back training, they're all back training in gyms and different things, but they're not training for an All-Ireland semi-final.'
Meanwhile, Portumna captain Ollie Canning has paid tribute to fellow Galway clubs Sarsfields and Athenry who he believes set the high standard for all clubs in the county.
The Galway star insisted: 'Sarsfields and Athenry set the benchmark not just for clubs in Galway but for the rest of the country.
'They weren’t prepared to accept one win, they had no problem motivating themselves to go through hard winter training and go on and win more. We learned a lot from them.'
The winner of De La Salle v Cushendall await in the final on St Patrick's Day.
