But Keane was adamant at Monday’s Munster championship launch that the half-back, who is in line to captain Kerry if available, will be back in time for the game.

“There are a couple of injuries, but I’m not sure how serious they are. Some of them could be two or three weeks. We are confident enough Gavin will be back for the Championship,” said the Kerry manager.

When asked about Dublin’s five-in-a-row bid, Keane was unsure how heavy the hand of history would weigh on Jim Gavin’s side. The new Kerry boss certainly believes it was a factor back when his own county was chasing a fifth successive All-Ireland crowd in 1982.

“You talk to a lot of Kerry players from the day, and some of them will say, maybe, they just froze, or things didn’t just run their way on the day. And the closer it came, the more difficult it got."

“I can’t speak for Dublin, but it is history in the making if they are going to win five. It doesn’t come around very often, but you don’t get into that position by being a bad team, and it’s not like they got there by some lucky break.

"But again it is history, no different to Kilkenny in 2010 when they lost the five. In 1982, I remember Mick O’Dwyer saying he felt like there were 31 counties against Kerry. And you can probably see where people like change, but they do like a history of things too, that a team were able to do that.”

Elsewhere, Clare football goalkeeper Eamonn Tubridy has been ruled out for two months with knee ligament damage. Selector Enda Coughlan also confirmed that Keelan Sexton, who scored the vital goal against Tipperary to preserve Clare’s Division 2 status, will spend the summer in Boston.

“Keelan is a big loss. For Cormac Murray, Evan Courtney, and Conor Finucane, though, it is an opportunity for them to step up. That is the way you have got to look at it. As Colm [Collins] says, next man up.”