Speaking at the semi-final preview press conference, Hogan explained: "It bled out. I thought it was a dead leg, turned out it was a lot more serious. I woke up the following morning (after a club game for O'Loughlin Gaels) and it was the size of my quad.

"I just remember the leg getting sore with about 10 minutes to go. Thought it was a standard dead leg. Iced it, woke up the following morning and was in serious trouble.

"I went into the medics and it was a judgement call, they could open the leg but then you’re gone for the year.

“A specialist looked at it and you could be talking skin grafts and this kind of thing or you could just basically try and ride out the pain. But thankfully it's fine now, it has settled down."

Hogan's inclusion will be confirmed by Brian Cody when he announces his team selection on Friday. TJ Reid is also due to replace the suspended Richie Hogan who was given a straight red card for striking Limerick's Sean Tobin.

Since losing their Leinster title to Galway, Cody's charges have knuckled down as they bid to make it back-to-back All-Ireland triumphs this year.

That hard work and match preparation has been done behind closed doors as the Cats' training sessions at Nowlan Park, often open to the public, are off limits for the public of late.

Brian Hogan feels it was a wise decision by Cody, admitting: "The players are very happy with it because you’re not getting this round of applause when a back clears the ball or when Henry (Shefflin) scores a goal. That's grand as well and, fine, I understand that people want to go in and watch it.

"But at the same time it’s a bit artificial. You get Spanish students coming in and they’re all roaring and bawling at the back of the stand. It can get to be a bit of a circus. You don’t need that.

“Brian’s very much up for promoting hurling, getting kids in to watch it, but when the performances dipped, we didn’t really perform as we’d have liked against Galway, that was disappointing, and I suppose he just wanted a bit of, you know, quiet time.

“Obviously you’ll have the rumour mill going into overdrive that the likes of the elder statesmen can’t get in to watch training and they’re saying, ‘they must be killing each other in there’.

"It’s just to kind of get the work done and not have the rigmarole that goes with it."