Limerick captain Declan Hannon is not sure if he will play again this season as he battles to recover from a knee injury.
Hannon limped off in the 55th minute of the Munster final win over Clare and is expected to miss the All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin, Galway or Tipperary.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport today, the Adare man would only say that he was "hopeful" of being back if the four-in-a-row-chasing Treaty make it to a fourth successive decider.
"I just got a bit of a knock in the Munster final to the knee," he said. "I'm rehabbing that at the minute and trying to get back performing on the pitch as quickly as possible.
"I'd play on one leg if I could, but the All-Ireland semi-final will come too soon, they think.
"You'd be hopeful [of being fit for a final]. It’s just kind of day by day and see how the rehab goes.
"I couldn’t answer the question at the minute. Our full focus is on the semi-final and seeing how we get on.
"I’ll just do whatever I can to support the boys over the next few weeks. Try and have a bit of fun with them as well and knock out the tension that might be there at times."
Hannon (30) has missed only one of the 37 championship games of John Kiely's reign so far, the 2019 round-robin defeat to Tipperary when Limerick were already assured of progression.
However, the three-time All-Star winning No 6 has full faith that his team-mates, already dealing with the loss of star corner-back Sean Finn, can step up in his absence.
"That's why you have a panel of players, that’s why you train together so often," he said. "You could be thrown in at any stage of the game.
"To be honest, when I'm playing the boys do a lot of the work. I’m only in the way half the time. Whoever goes in there the next day will have no bother at all.
"The last day the subs that came in did a really good job. You saw David Reidy start and he was brilliant, Graeme Mulchay started on the left and did a really good job as well. I have every confidence."
Vice-captain Cian Lynch was kept in reserve during the one-point victory over Clare but Hannon reports that the two-time Hurler of the Year, who has been hampered with a hamstring injury, is now "flying it".
"Up and down the pitch. Looking forward to seeing him make waves, as he does, over the next few weeks.
"The two injuries he got last year were sucker-punches for him. Your heart would go out to him, especially the second one when he was back for the All-Ireland semi-final and then did his ankle the week before the All-Ireland final. That was just a sickener. But he has come back all guns blazing. He's in great form."
The four-week break was often regarded as a disadvantage to the provincial champions under the old format but Hannon regards it as a positive after a gruelling campaign of five round-robin games in six weeks, albeit one that ended in glory at the Gaelic Grounds.
"It felt fantastic, it was a sweet one," he said. "Even with the occasion and the game being on in Limerick. A magic noise and atmosphere. Seeing the thousands of green and white jerseys on the pitch at the end of the game was amazing. It reminded me so much of 2013 when we beat Cork in the final.
"It was a very, very tough campaign in Munster, so to win the Munster final and get the couple of extra weeks off before the All-Ireland semi-final was a massive bonus. The nature of the championship, how competitive it is, a lot of the games go to the 75th minute without anybody knowing what the result is going to be. That's tough on bodies.
"There was obviously people saying from the outside that they're not going as well or things like that, but within the group we have certain standards that we set for ourselves and probably didn't hit them throughout the Munster campaign.
"That's something we can really go after now in the next three weeks getting ready for the semi-final. A very satisfying part of it was winning the Munster championship while not playing as well as we'd like to play."
If Clare beat Dublin on Saturday, Limerick will play the winners of Galway v Tipperary, a quarter-final clash Hannon says is "nearly impossible to call".
"There's nothing between any of the teams. There's serious competitiveness there. In Munster, Leinster, you see how tight a lot of the games are. It makes for an unbelievable spectacle.
"I think all the counties are trying to raise their standards every time they go out. No more than ourselves, we're always trying to improve any way you can at all. The standard of games has been unreal. It's a privilege to be part of it."
Watch the All-Ireland Hurling Championship quarter-finals, Dublin v Clare and Galway v Tipperary, on Saturday from 3.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app or listen to live updates on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
