MONAGHAN MIDFIELDER DARREN Hughes is on his way to Australia as a replacement for Pearce Hanley who broke his hand in Sunday’s International Rules first test in Adelaide.

Source: Inpho

Ireland take on the Aussies next Saturday in Perth with a 10-point deficit to make up if they’re to retain the Cormac McAnallen Cup.

“Darren Hughes is on his way out,” manager Joe Kernan confirmed to the Irish Times on Monday morning in Adelaide.

“He ticks all the boxes; he covers us in a lot of positions. It will be great to have him here. It’s unfortunate for Pearce – he was playing very well.”

Hughes wasn’t one of the five players left on Kernan’s stand-by list, but is a veteran of the 2011, 2014 and 2015 series.

Hanley was one of the Irish players hit with a vomiting bug last week, but recovered in time to play in the 63-53 defeat. He sustained the hand injury during the second quarter, which caused him to miss the entire second-half.

The illness also affected Niall Murphy of Sligo and Roscommon’s Enda Smith, and both players are still affected by it.

Neither player were well enough to even attend the first test in Adelaide Oval, both Kernan is hopeful they’ll be fit to see some action this weekend.

Former Derry starlet Conor Glass is currently taking part in pre-season training with AFL club Hawthorn, who are based in Melbourne.

Glass is an obvious replacement if one or both players are unable to play next Saturday.

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