Kilkenny already dealt blow for next year’s championship preparations

This isn't really ideal news for Kilkenny hurling.

For the first time since the early noughties, Kilkenny have gone two years without claiming hurling's top prize. The gap between the Cats and the rest of the counties has been closed and they will be looking to reestablish their dominance sooner rather than later. Recapturing their former All-Ireland glories requires a solid foundation, and as every GAA man, woman and child knows, the best foundation for the Liam MacCarthy Cup is the provincial championships. Kilkenny will have to make do without an All-Star forward for 2018's Leinster senior hurling championship, as Colin Fennelly has been ruled out of the campaign. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/900772272503492608 Fennelly will join an army peace-keeping mission to the Lebanon later this year which he won't return from until April 2018, according to Independent.ie.This means he will miss the entire league campaign and is unlikely to feature in the provincial championship at all. He is a very experienced performer for Kilkenny having claimed an All-Star in 2014 as well as four All-Ireland and four provincial championships apiece.