Kidneys concern for Kelly after test trauma

MEATH forward Niall Kelly was rushed to Our Lady’s Hospital in Navan on Sunday night after shipping a blow to the kidneys during the county’s NFL Division Two final defeat to Monaghan at Croke Park.

Kelly was one of two Meath players required to submit a urine sample after the match and, as is so often the case, the Dunshaughlin player was extremely dehydrated and needed to drink a large amount of fluids in order to fulfil the test.

"Niall shouldn't have been asked to do the test after taking a knock on the kidneys," said selector David Beggy yesterday. "No player should. He was there for hours afterwards and had to drink an enormous amount of water. He actually got sick drinking that much fluid and it's a situation that the GAA will need to look at in the future."

Kelly still felt sick when he returned home and, having gone to bed early, he awoke soon after and had to be taken to hospital.

Beggy visited the player yesterday and reported that he was feeling much better.

Kelly will undergo a scan today and his condition will not be determined until those results come through.

Most cases of external kidney trauma result in mild bruises that heal spontaneously although analgesics an agent that relieves pain without losing consciousness may be administered. Hospitalisation and close observation are usually the norm because of the risk of internal loss of blood from a traumatically injured kidney.

Kelly picked up the injury in the first half when he lost possession in a tackle.

Referee Aidan Mangan did not see any offence and no foul was awarded.

County PRO Brendan Cummins joined Beggy in voicing his concerns over the drug testing procedure yesterday, suggesting that more thought needs to be put into the procedures.

"It's a bad time to be asking players to give samples after the game," said Cummins.

"Niall was extremely dehydrated and drinking all those fluids to give the sample might have done some damage after taking the blow to the kidneys.

"Why can't players be asked to give a sample before a game when they're not going to be dehydrated? As well as that, a lot of players drink from bottles thrown onto the field from all different types of people from both sides, so who is to say what is in any of those bottles."

Despite the injury, Kelly was one of Meath's best forwards on the day, scoring two superb points from play, the second after the break when he had already picked up the injury.

Meanwhile, Beggy is adamant that the traumatic nature of Meath's defeat to Monaghan will have no affect on the county's championship campaign.

He also called on Monaghan to keep their feet on the ground, saying they still have "bigger fish to fry yet."

"I know Monaghan (had) a homecoming last night and it's great for them after the last few years they've had. They need to keep their feet on the ground though because they have a lot left to offer yet."