The Kerry footballers look likely to be without the services of Colm Cooper for the rest of the season.

The Kerry County Board has confirmed that their star forward suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in his right knee while in action for his club, Dr Crokes during Saturday's All Ireland Club semi-final defeat to Castlebar Mitchels.

'The Gooch' will now undergo surgery in the near future to repair the damage but the eight-time All Star is now facing a minimum of six months on the sidelines and appears unlikely to feature for the Kingdom this season.

The Kerry County Board statement confirmed the results of today's scans on the injury: "A scan in the Santry Sports Clinic today has revealed that Colm Cooper has ruptured his cruciate ligament. He will undergo surgery in due course. Kerry GAA wishes our Senior Football Captain a full and speedy recovery."

The loss of inspirational 30-year-old will come as another huge blow to Kerry manager Éamonn Fitzmaurice, who has already lost the services of the likes of Paul Galvin and Tomás O Sé through retirement.