Jack Guiney made his first appearance this year with the Wexford senior hurlers in a challenge win away to a combination of the Kilkenny intermediate and under-21 hurlers on Sunday.

The Rathnure player was college-tied for the Walsh Cup tournament, in which he produced eye-catching performances for University College Dublin. But a head wound led to Guiney being sidelined for the course of Wexford’s National League campaign. Thankfully he is now fully recovered, and he started on Sunday against the Kilkenny selection in a tie which saw Oulart-The Ballagh’s Eoin Moore also return to the action following an injury-enforced lay off since the opening National League tie against Carlow. Former Faythe Harriers’ player Stephen Nolan has also departed the treatment-room, and he played the whole game, which saw impressive showings from recent county minors Shane O’Gorman (Adamstown), Garrett Foley (Fethard) and Barry Carton (Cloughbawn) in a 4-8 to 0-17 victory for Wexford.

Ahead of the break for county championship action, Wexford had a second work-out on Sunday when they played away to Waterford, at WalshPark, where a late goal saw Waterford sneak victory in a nip-and-tuck affair.

Manager Liam Dunne and fellow selectors Murty Dempsey and Tomás Codd continue to have a number of concerns ahead of the Leinster quarter-final against Dublin on June 8th. Keith Rossiter even remains a doubt for Oulart-The Ballagh’s opening defence of the Wexford senior hurling crown in a few weeks’ time as he struggles with a hamstring injury.

Ciarán Kenny is nursing a similar complaint after suffering the injury in club action, and he could miss Buffers Alley’s championship start.

Things are thankfully looking up for Diarmuid ‘Gizzy’ Lyng, who had been forced out of action owing to an energy-sapping virus. But ‘Gizzy’ is expected to be back training with St. Martin’s this evening (Tuesday) as he makes his first tentative steps back to full-blooded combat.