Derry forward Raymond Wilkinson suffers knee injury blow

Raymond Wilkinson

Derry's Raymond Wilkinson has been ruled out for the summer because of a serious knee injury sustained in the Division Two final win over Westmeath.

Scans revealed that the Ballinderry Shamrocks forward has sustained a partial cruciate tear with lateral ligament and possibly cartilage damage.

Oak Leafers boss Brian McIver also has injury worries over Barry McGoldrick, PJ McCloskey and Dermot McBride.

Derry face Down in their first round tie at Celtic Park on Sunday 2 June.

Wilkinson was forced to retire hurt during the second half of his county's victory in Sunday's Football League Division Two decider at Croke Park.

An x-ray revealed that the attacker had not sustained a fracture but he underwent further scans in recent days to assess the extent of the damage.

Hamstring injury victim McGoldrick is another racing to be fit after suffering a recurrence of a previous injury in a club game.

McBride and McCloskey are also on the treatment table.

Ryan Scott and Mark Craig are long-term injury absentees for the Oak Leafers.