Henry Shefflin has ruled out the possibility of James 'Cha' Fitzpatrick returning to the Kilkenny senior hurling panel in the future.
Fitzpatrick shocked the GAA community in November when he announced his retirement from inter-county hurling at the age of 26 with a lack of first-team opportunities coupled with a desire to travel prompting the three-time All-Star to call time on his Kilkenny career
Despite calls for Fitzpatrick to reconsider, Shefflin believes there is little chance of him changing his mind.
"I asked him that question and no. He's is very much rooted in the club and he has been very good to us. He was back training last weekend," Shefflin said of his Ballyhale Shamrocks clubmate.
"He gave his reasons. He told me himself and I couldn't argue with any of them. He is a young chap and he has his own life to live. To be fair, 'Cha' was one of our star players and to go from that to sitting on the bench was very difficult to take and you can understand where he was coming from. I didn't try to talk him around."
Fitzpatrick was one of several Kilkenny stalwarts to announce their retirements with Eddie Brennan and PJ Ryan both deciding enough was enough along with the likes of Martin Comerford, Derek Lyng and James Ryall.
Brennan's decision came as a huge surprise to Shefflin especially after his influential performance against Tipperary in last September's All-Ireland SHC final.
"I didn't think Eddie would go. He told me he was thinking about it and I said, 'Jesus no Eddie, you'll be grand' and I thought that was it and that he would come back," he is quoted as saying in the Irish Independent.
"But I was surprised because Eddie has so much to give but it was a great way to go out. And you can totally understand why he would do it -- he has a young family, so you wouldn't try and twist someone's arm.
"I think his mind was made up and that was it, but obviously I was very disappointed to see him go.
"Three seems a lot. It has always been one or two the last few years or no one before that. Maybe it's a sign of the times.
"There's not many of my age anymore, that's the problem. Derek Lyng, Martin Comerford, Eddie, PJ (Ryan), there was a group of us there that is dwindling quickly."