RTÉ hurling analyst Liam Sheedy has said that Cork's double injury blow will leave manager Ben O’Connor with an "unsettling" feeling.
Sunday’s inspiring Munster win over Limerick came at a price with full-back Ciarán Joyce ruled out for the season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, while centre half-back Rob Downey will sit out for six weeks with an ankle injury.
"It came at a heavy cost and the platform for your team is ultimately your three and your six and Ciarán Joyce had really just settled in," Sheedy told RTÉ Radio 1’s Inside Sport.
"He put three excellent performances in on the back of each other (since the league final) and was going really well.
"Rob Downey, obviously you know his performance in Thurles (against Tipperary) and again yesterday, he's just such a colossal in that defence.
"When you look at Cork they seem to have a massive array of talent up front and loads of guys that you could shift in and shift out, but that back six were just settling so it is slightly unsettling for Ben O'Connor this morning no doubt.
"But I guess as unsettling as it is, to have four points in the bag and for the first time in a round-robin to have gone the first two games undefeated I think is a huge lift for this Cork team and for the confidence."
That second win came with a late flourish against 14-man Limerick who had to play the final 20 minutes a man down after Cian Lynch’s dismissal for an off-the-ball striking incident.
Despite that moment being held up as the key reason Limerick’s Munster campaign started with a loss, Sheedy doesn’t feel that there’s a discipline problem in the Treaty camp.
"There's none of us that haven't had a moment and when the red mist comes down, you'd love to get those few seconds back," he said.
"There were a few cards dished out yesterday but in general they do like to pride themselves on how they tackle and some of their tackling yesterday was exemplary.
"One of Kyle Hayes' blocks, the amount of times Gearoid Hegarty came back and got a flick on the ball - he went back nearly inside his own 21 at one stage.
"Some of their play and some of their tackling was exceptional, but there's a fine line at times between on the line and over the top and they'll need to be careful."
Watch Clare v Limerick in the Munster Hurling Championship on Sunday from 1.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow our live blog on RTÉ.ie/sport and RTÉ News app and listen to Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
Watch The Saturday Game and The Sunday Game from 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on all matches on the RTÉ News app and on rte.ie/sport
