ARTHUR DUFFY reports

Central midfielder, Ciaran Martyn, is now hobbling on crutches and is expected to be absent for the next few months having sustained a nasty ankle injury. The Sligo man having torn ligaments which have come off the bone having turned awkwardly at Terryland Park. Kenny, however, refuses to rule him out for the remainder of the season.

Influential captain, Peter Hutton, requires an immediate hernia operation having opted to play through the pain barrier in recent matches. The centre-half had hoped to have the problem sorted at the end of the season but the discomfort he experienced after last weekend’s defeat by Shamrock Rovers has changed all that. He will now be out for up to six weeks.

Barry Molloy, who returned to action against Galway, suffered major discomfort after the match having again experienced pain from a troublesome muscle at the back of his knee. He received an injection by ultrasound on Wednesday which could solve the problem, but the Derry midfield general is expected to be out of action for 10 days.

And Mark McChrystal, who returned to first team duty a few weeks ago with impressive displays, has a swollen groin which necessitated a trip to a specialist in Belfast yesterday. The extent of that injury is not yet known, but Kenny appeared to be more hopeful of a swift return to action for the defender, opting to err on the side of caution as he awaits the specialist’s report.

Kenny, therefore, leads his squad into a tricky game at St. Colman’s Park tomorrow night against Cobh Ramblers and it’s extremely doubtful if any of the above quartet will be on the flight from Belfast this evening.

Immediately dismissing talk of what should be a straight-forward win, the Brandywell boss rubbished talk of Cobh wishing to return to the Munster Senior League and relinquish their hopes of retaining senior football in Co. Cork.

“From what I’ve been told, one guy on the club’s Management Committee mentioned this and it’s been blown out of all proportion since. Make no mistake about it, Cobh wish to remain in the Premier Division and they will continue to battle until the end which makes them dangerous opponents, especially at St. Colman’s Park.

“And backing that up is the fact that they’ve signed four new players before the closure of the Transfer Window. Ex-Derry City midfielder Greg O’Halloran, former Cork midfielder Colin O’Brien are now at Cobh while striker, Ross Gaynor, has returned from Millwall and Daryl Kavanagh has joined them from Waterford, significant signings I would have thought for a team wishing to return to the Munster Senior League?” questioned Kenny.

“They may be bottom of the league table, but a victory over us would see them move on level points with the teams above them. They’ve beaten Shamrock Rovers and secured quite a few draws at home, so they’ll be battling for everything, make no mistake about that,” claimed the Dubliner.

“I don’t believe they will come out and play us.