The Ireland international and former All Star was set to play a crucial role in Westmeath's season but after helping his county gain promotion from Division 2B of the league, he entered the semi-finals of the same competition against Donegal carrying a hamstring problem.

Both the player and the county board were hopeful that the operation could be put off for as long as possible to allow him to participate in Westmeath's campaign but Dolan didn't feature in his side's final championship warm-up against Galway on Friday, raising fears that he may miss the big midland derby game.