An already struggling Galway were forced to play the second half of their League clash against Dublin without Joe Canning when the attacker was inexplicably substituted at half-time.

The instrumental forward scored five points in the opening half, four of which were frees, which accounted for more than half of Galway's scores as they trailed Dublin 0-10 0-07 at the interval.

But the Portumna star did not re-appear for the second half which left many feeling puzzled considering his significance to the Galway attack and his pivotal first half performance that was effectively keeping Galway in the contest.

And his absence was keenly felt as Galway went on to receive a hammering at the hands of Dublin and register their first loss in the 2016 League after beating Cork in the opening round.

But Galway boss Micheál Donoghue has since revealed that Canning was suffering from an illness in the lead-up to the game and was unable to continue playing after half-time.