Tyrone have been hit with a double hammer blow in their bid to avoid relegation from Division 1.
The Red Hand men will be without All-Ireland winners Michael McKernan (broken hand) and Conn Kilpatrick (ankle ligaments) for the rest of the League.
McKernan is also a major doubt for the Championship opener against Cavan or Monaghan on April 21.
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Of more immediate concern is next weekend’s crunch Omagh date with Monaghan, who prop up Division 1 on two points from five games.
Roscommon are on three points with Tyrone on four and Galway on five.
Tyrone’s final game is away to Dublin so the Monaghan game is a must-win for both sides.
Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan have handed out nine full league debuts this year.
So the news that they will be without two of their most experienced players for a number of weeks is a major blow in a condensed season.
Midfielder Kilpatrick damaged ankle ligaments in the third quarter of their defeat by Kerry in Killarney last weekend and had to go off.
The injury will rule him out for in the region of three weeks, which means he will miss the last two rounds of the League.
McKernan sustained a broken hand in the closing stages of the first half of Tyrone’s win over Mayo a fortnight ago.
Peter Harte went off injured in the first half against Kerry but the team captain is expected to be fit for next weekend’s Monaghan tie at Healy Park.
Tyrone started with only six of their 2021 All Ireland final team in Killarney.
And without McKernan and Harte it meant that they finished the game with only one defender from ‘21, then skipper Paudie Hampsey.
On the plus side Cathal McShane got his first minutes of the season under his belt, while Kieran McGeary made another appearance as a substitute.
Frank Burns, Conor Meyler, Mattie Donnelly and Michael O’Neill are all on the injury list.
This story first appeared on Radio Today