SWANS star Tadhg Kennelly has been ruled out of the International Rules Series after he underwent a groin adductor release operation on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Irishman will also have a shoulder reconstruction in two weeks time.

The surgery comes after the talented defender played with groin pain for half of the season and also had to have his shoulder put back in place by teammates at times late in the Swans’ campaign. 

Kennelly has been a strong supporter of the revival of the hybrid series and is disappointed to miss out playing for his native land.

“I love playing for Ireland and getting to play with the round ball which I don’t get the opportunity to do all year. I’ll just aim to be back in Croke Park next year,” Kennelly said.

“Had we (the Swans) have continued on into September I probably could have played because I could have put back the surgery and I would have only had to delay it three or four weeks.

“But because we finished so early in the finals there would have been a six or seven-week gap.”

The groin surgery was a success and Kennelly is hopeful that he can play pain free next season.

“There was a bit of damage in the adductor which was giving me a lot of pain when I was playing. I couldn’t train properly for the last six weeks of the season. I could only train on my legs for about half an hour,” he said.

“You want to train and do everything you can to prepare for matches but my body just wasn’t allowing it because it was so sore.

“My game time was also limited because of it. If I had played the full first three quarters I wouldn’t have been able to move in the last quarter.”

Kennelly’s frequent shoulder dislocations late in the season often made fans squirm in their seats, and he said it even came out in his sleep one night.

Having had reconstructive surgery before, he vows he will take more time with his recovery this time.

“I had the surgery done before but I rushed back from it. I’d just come back to Australia after my dad passed away and all I wanted to do is play so I rushed back after six weeks which was crazy,” he said.

“This time I’m going to do it properly and take a full three or four months to get it right for the start of the season.”

However Kennelly will remain in Australia for the International Rules Series, which starts on October 24 at Subiaco Oval in Perth and concludes a week later in Melbourne..

“I’ll hang on and help out with the boys and do as much as I can to get a win for them.”

Kennelly is already in regular contact with the Irish International Rules team coach Sean Boylan.

“He called me yesterday and left a message on my phone so I’ll have to call him back,” he laughed.