ANTHONY DALY must occasionally stop and wonder if he absent-mindedly walked under a ladder during the closed-season. Or accidentally broke a mirror. Or unwittingly spied a black cat (as opposed to those pesky black-and-amber ones) crossing his path on the long road from Clarecastle to Donnycarney.

The Dublin manager may even have thought all these things when news filtered through that one of his key players -- Conal Keaney -- had been involved in a motorcycle accident on his way to work yesterday morning.

This has been a history-making year for the Dublin hurlers but it has also been a campaign blighted by serial misfortune.

And now, following this latest mishap, they are left facing an already tricky quarter-final against Limerick without three big men in every sense of the word -- skipper Stephen Hiney, full-back Tomás Brady, and now Keaney.

In fairness, Dublin have long adjusted to life without Hiney (out since March) and Brady (KO'd in June), both victims of the GAA's seemingly endless cruciate epidemic.

Yes, Dublin have missed and will continue to miss these two defensive pillars ... but they were never going to be part of the All-Ireland game-plan.

Keaney, though, most assuredly was -- until disaster struck yesterday morning.

PIVOTAL

The Ballyboden clubman has been a pivotal player since his long-anticipated return from football's embrace: in a variety of positions he has offered a ferocious will-power and real physical presence. Unlike Dublin half-forwards of yore, he has no problem winning his own ball but, just as crucially, he generally used that possession wisely.

He excelled in the early Leinster rounds against Offaly and Galway. His form dipped against Kilkenny, albeit the same can be said for all bar a couple of Dublin players in that deflating 11-point defeat.

Recovering from that Leinster final setback was always going to be an exercise in mental strength as much as physical fortitude.

Now even more so.

In fairness, judging from player interviews carried by the Evening Herald this week, the players have been well up for the challenge.

Keaney himself emphasised the importance of getting their workrate "back up to where it should be."

Ryan O'Dwyer highlighted a player meeting on the Tuesday afterwards, when the group spoke defiantly about pushing onwards, not settling for what they had already achieved this year.

"We decided there and then that our season wasn't over. That we wanted more out of it," O'Dwyer revealed.

"We don't want to be happy just with the fact that we're Dublin senior hurlers. We want to be successful Dublin hurlers."

In which case, it will be intriguing to see how Dublin react to this latest injury-enforced absence.

In fairness, one of the most remarkable features of their effervescent Allianz League coronation was the fact that they'd made it to the final despite a succession of injury setbacks.

They duly crushed an out-of-sorts (and also injury-depleted) Kilkenny despite losing Joey Boland with a dislocated shoulder during the game -- and for the next two months also.

Now Daly's men should show the game ability to ride with the punches, and they could start by reminding themselves that it's not all bad news this weekend.

Firstly, O'Dwyer is back from suspension and his gung-ho spirit and fearsome pursuit of second ball should go some way to compensate for the loss of Keaney. Presuming the Tipp man can temper the aggression that saw him red-carded against Galway, he can have a big say in the rest of Dublin's season.

Here's another positive: Joey Boland clearly wasn't up to championship pace when making his return against the Cats but, three weeks on, he should be closer to the Joey we know.

And finally, let's not forget that Limerick may be supremely well-drilled under Donal O'Grady (pictured), they may have emerged as moral victors when pipped at the Munster semi-final post by Waterford ... but they are not Kilkenny.

They have some injury issues too, with midfielder Donal O'Grady flagged as a major shoulder injury doubt earlier in the week -- albeit the manager's namesake was duly selected on Thursday night.

Limerick have recovered from that Déise hammer-blow by hitting 1-22 against Wexford and 3-22 against 14-man Antrim.

Impressive tallies, on paper, with Leaving Cert student Declan Hannon delivering consecutive 'Man of the Match' displays.

Elevated

However, neither Wexford nor Antrim has operated anywhere close to Dublin's elevated level this season. This is a huge ask for an evolving Limerick and they may require goals to have a chance. Another teenage talent, Kevin Downes, is their most likely source of green flags and so Peter Kelly can expect another searching examination during his thus-far successful reinvention as a full-back.

Two years ago, Dublin were favourites to see off an experienced but struggling Limerick at the identical stage and same location ... for whatever reason, the pressure got to them.

This time, pre-match fate has dealt a cruel blow but Dublin are a more experienced outfit today and, we suspect, more resolute too.

They can still press on and reach that elusive semi-final.

ODDS: Dublin 4/7, Draw 10/1, Limerick 13/8

VERDICT: Dublin

DUBLIN: TBC

LIMERICK: N Quaid; D Moloney, S Hickey, T Condon; W McNamara, B Geary, G O'Mahony; D O'Grady, P Browne; N Moran, J Ryan, D Hannon; G Mulcahy, K Downes, S Tobin.

- Frank Roche