Waterford selector Dan Shanahan says Pauric Mahony's absence from this year's All-Ireland championship was a "big loss" for their team.

A serious leg injury sidelined the 23-year-old centre-forward in a campaign which ended with defeat to Kilkenny in the semi-finals yesterday.

Speaking to Newstalk's Oisin Langan after the game, Shanahan revealed how big a loss Mahony has been this year.

"He's one of our talismans. He's a big player for us and he's a massive loss. But it's fair dues to the lads who've stepped up to the mark all year. Maurice [Shanahan] has been scoring but the ball has to come a long way for Maurice to put it over the bar," he said of Mahony.

"So, it's a credit to him and hopefully we'll have Pauric back 120 per cent next year and we will have him back. So, we'll go back to the drawing board, he's a big loss and he was a big loss against Tipp. We missed Pauric in the bigger games against Tipp and Kilkenny." 

Listen to Shanahan's full post-match comments via the podcast player: