Injury could rule Ó Sé out for rest of season

KERRY star Tomás Ó Sé has been ruled out of both International Rules tests in Croke Park.

The Gaeltacht defender had his jaw wired yesterday at Cork University Hospital and is out of competitive action for a minimum of five weeks.

That will also rule Ó Sé out of his club’s bid to retain their Kerry SFC title, with the semi-final scheduled for October 23/24, and the Kerry decider pencilled in for November 7.

International Rules manager Pete McGrath had hoped that Ó Sé may be available for the second test against the Aussie Rules squad but an x-ray on Monday revealed damage to the jaw that required a wire protection to be inserted. It is unlikely that he will play football again this season.

The loss of Ó Sé, tipped by many to be named footballer of the year, is a huge blow to An Ghaeltacht, who are also without his brother, Darragh, for the remainder of the season.

Tomás sustained the jaw fracture in an off-the-ball incident during his club’s quarter-final win over Listowel Emmets on Saturday evening.

Meanwhile, Tyrone could have Enda McGinley back in their squad for the start of the NFL campaign.

McGinley made a surprise return from a career-threatening injury in a club game at the weekend.

There were fears the 23-year-old All-Ireland winning corner-forward could be forced to quit the game after he suffered a recurrence of a serious neck injury earlier this year.

He suffered the original damage during last season’s All-Ireland final win over Armagh.

And as he prepared to return for this year’s championship, a fall in training aggravated the problem, ruling him out of the Red Hands’ entire campaign, and placing a serious question over his sporting future.

But McGinley made his comeback on Saturday, coming on as a second- half substitute for Errigal Ciaran in a league clash at Cookstown.

And he made a significant impact, setting up the only goal of the game for Damien McDermott and scoring a late point to help his side to a two-point win.

News of McGinley’s recovery, rehabilitation and return to action will have been warmly received by Tyrone manager Mickey Harte, who will turn his thoughts to selecting a panel for the 2005 season in the coming weeks.