Joe Canning will miss Galway's Allianz Hurling League Division One opener against Dublin on Sunday after sustaining a shoulder injury in the Fitzgibbon Cup on Wednesday.
The Galway marksman was representing Limerick IT when he took a knock to the shoulder just 43 minutes into the clash and had to be transferred by ambulance to the Mid Western Hospital.
He will have a scan on Wednesday but early reports suggested the forward had dislocated his AC joint and will definitely miss Sunday's league tie.
Scans will determine the extent of the damage but there are fears that Canning will be missing for between four to six weeks, ruling him out of the Fitzgibbon Cup final next week as well as the majority of Galway's league campaign.
I'm not going to go into it, he is in trouble, it looks as if it is his AC joint. He is probably looking at four to six weeks out, which is unfortunate for Galway too," LIT manager Davy Fitzgerald said.
"They were getting ready for the league and now it looks as if he will miss all of that. We're very disappointed with that.
"I'm just very disappointed with it. He was flying it, he is probably the best forward in the country, we all feel that.
"I am more disappointed for Joe, we will get to play a semi-final - and please God a final - but I am disappointed for him having missed last year. But that is the way it goes."