Dan Shanahan has warned Tipperary will struggle to replace Lar Corbett following his shock retirement.
Corbett scored an incredible 26 goals for Tipperary in the Championship, including a hat-trick in the 2010 All-Ireland SHC final win over Kilkenny, but at the age of 30 he has decided to turn his back on his inter-county career citing work commitments as the reason for his departure.
Rumours of a rift between Corbett and manager Declan Ryan have been strenuously denied and those in Tipperary are hopeful the Thurles Sarsfield clubman will have a change of heart in the coming months.
Shanahan has joined the chorus of voices expressing their shock at Corbett's decision and he believes Tipperary will struggle without their talisman.
"He is a goal scorer and goals win games. But his hand-passing and his movement is unbelievable. He had unbelievable pace," Shanahan said.
"The one thing, it was never about Lar it was always about Tipperary. If there was a fella in a better position, he would give the ball to him. He was their main man.
"Ultimately he is a natural goal-scorer and they are hard to get so he will be a big loss to Tipperary."
Corbett has followed in the footsteps of the likes of James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick and PJ Ryan who have all announced their retirements since Kilkenny lifted the Liam McCarthy trophy last September.
Shanahan was just 33 when he ended his Waterford career and he understands why more and more players are walking away early.
"Inter-county hurling is almost a professional game now," he told the Out In Front podcast. "There are just unbelievable demands and you are talking nearly five or six nights of the week now.
"Lar has his own business, a pub, and you have to be there to run something like that. The one thing I noticed over the last few years is players are retiring younger.
"I know Tony Browne is still playing, but he is a one-off and so is Padraic Joyce. But nearly every fella who reaches 30 is thinking of retiring."