Kingdom will ease Cooper back into action
However, it may be some time before the All Star is in a position to make a return to action with the All-Ireland champions.
“Because he has been away from training and competitive games for so long, easing him back will be the right thing to do,’’ he said.
In the meantime, captain Paul Galvin, along with Declan O’Sullivan and Sean O’Sullivan could ‘possibly’ be available for selection for the last round of the League, away to Galway at Pearse Stadium. This game is fixed for April 13 and may prove critical to both sides’ final qualification hopes.
According to O’Shea, the former and current team captains have been ‘moving very well’ in training after injury lay-offs.
Cooper has enjoyed a lengthy break abroad but has done some gym work and a bit of running while in the US.
“Obviously, we want to get him back,” said O’Shea. “But first we will have to assess him to see when he will be physically right to play a game. It’s a busy time on the club scene and we don’t want him to overdo things because there’s a risk of injury.’’
In general terms, the Kerry boss is delighted with progress to date, making the point that while they have been missing key forwards, they have been fortunate that most of their defenders ‘are available constantly’ and that they have been avoiding injury.
“We have gone through a lot of forwards through the League. That was what we said we would use it for. We are happy that there are a lot of players in the county with these capabilities and they are going to get their chance.’’
Meanwhile, Darragh Ó Sé was understandably pleased with his performance in his first full game since committing himself to the squad for a further year.
He said: “I was delighted to be back and it was a nice field to come back in because the pitch was in very good shape.”
“I’m in reasonably good shape. I would be as fit as I would like to be. The championship is a long way off at this stage and I’m on the right road.’’
His only concern on the night was that the game was ‘a bit tight’ near the end — agreeing that the result could very well have been different if U21 star Michael Tierney — Laois’s best forward on the night — had managed to convert a penalty minutes from the end. In the event, Kerry finished with four points to spare, with Laois manager Liam Kearns adamant that one of Kerry’s points (scored early in the second half by Bryan Sheehan) was wide.
“It was a great result for us because we were missing a few players. And we were disappointed to lose to Donegal by a point and Mayo by a point. They were all kind of last-minute scores. Tommy Walsh coming in from the U21 team and bringing a lot of form with him was a great boost the team. He was very strong on the ball and very mature. And he took his scores well.”
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