By Cian O'Connell

Cork hurling coach Kieran Murphy has confirmed that Stephen McDonnell and Aidan Walsh are on the verge of returning to the pnael.

McDonnell captained Cork to Munster glory in 2017, but opted out of the panel for the 2018 campaign.

For the past two years Walsh concentrated on Gaelic Football commitments with Cork.

“We haven’t finalised our panel at the moment, but certainly they are in the discussions,” Murphy stated at the launch of the 2018 Fenway Hurling Classic.

“Stephen opted out this year because he was doing a bit of travelling and a bit of work commitments. Obviously Aidan was tied up with the footballers, so look as far as I’m aware these lads have put their hands up to say that they’re available.

“We’ll be sitting down over the next few weeks after the Club Championship and obviously with the pedigree that these guys have, they’re certainly going to be in our thoughts.

“You’re always looking to add value. You need to kind of determine what are their characteristics? If you were to bring them back, what are they actually bringing to the table?

“Obviously these guys have a lot of experience, they’re still in good shape, they both look after themselves very well, so I suppose that would be kind of a key thing that they need to bring. They have that experience. When we do sit down for discussions, that will certainly be a help.”