O’Shea ponders return of star Kerry trio
“Paul has basically been out for the league,” said the Kerry manager who will name his starting 15 after training. “It is a hamstring injury that is affecting him, although he is back training at the moment. We’re weighing up the option of the risk involved in him playing on Sunday.
“We would obviously love to have him play. He is the captain of the team and would obviously dearly want to play as well, but we will make the decision based on the player’s best interests rather than short-term gain.
“Declan performed very well early on in the league and then had an issue with his knee. He had the operation and has trained very hard in the last three and a half weeks. He got some time against Galway and has played one and a half club matches as well.
“He is pretty close. Colm has obviously been away and didn’t get any opportunity to kick a ball. He just needs to get back to match fitness, match intensity. Having been away for so long, there is an increased risk of injury because you haven’t experienced the hits for a while. It’s getting him more accustomed to that from a training point of view. From our point of view, it is a great boost that the three lads are beginning to come back.”
Another trio that definitely won’t be playing a part in the weekend’s game in Dublin is that of Sean O’Sullivan, Tommy Griffin and Bryan Sheehan. O’Sullivan and Sheehan’s absences were well signposted but Griffin joins the casualty list after picking up a hamstring injury while on club duty last weekend.
Both Griffin and Sheehan had featured in every round of the league to date. O’Shea, who expressed his regret that the pair would miss out on the decider in such circumstances, also confirmed that none of the county U21s would play a part.
“We haven’t won an All-Ireland U21 since 1998 and a minor since 1994. With all respects, the minor doesn’t exactly hurt the county with regard to bringing players through but U21 would be nice to win.”
Kerry meet Kildare in the U21 All-Ireland on May 3 at Semple Stadium.
Meanwhile, Derry manager Paddy Crozier has confirmed that experienced midfielder James Conway will also be missing when the teams line out in Donnycarney.
“James Conway had an accident at work three weeks ago. He played against Donegal and came to training last Tuesday night with a lump below his knee. He got an infection in it and had to be rushed to hospital on Sunday to get it lanced,” confirmed Crozier.
Westmeath are sweating on the fitness of Dessie Dolan, who was forced off early in last Sunday’s game with a recurring hamstring problem and they are likely to be without David Duffy, who has an ankle injury. “I don’t think he is going to play at all,’’ manager Tomás Ó Flatharta said of Duffy. Experienced midfielder Martin Flanagan will again be available, after it was earlier feared he wouldn’t be back until the championship because of a knee problem.
They will name their team after training tonight, as will Dublin.
Meanwhile Wexford boss Jason Ryan has given a vote of confidence to the side which defeated Louth at the weekend for Sunday’s NFL Division Three Final against Fermanagh (Parnell Park, 12.30pm).
The Fermanagh team won’t be named until after training tonight, but manager Malachy O’Rourke is in the happy position of being able to pick from a full-strength squad.
Offaly will be near to full strength for their Division Four final against Tipperary in O’Moore Park on Sunday.
With two other county panels, Cork and Tipperary, out of the country this week, training holidays could be a thing of the past from next year onwards, there will be restrictions on overseas travel for teams as a result of a motion adopted at the Special Congress.
With two exceptions, the regulation stipulates that inter-county panels will not be permitted to leave the country on training ‘weekends’ after the National League competitions have been concluded.
However, the rule allows exemptions, where panels can be taken abroad during a 13-day period prior to a championship game or, during a 20-day period prior to an All-Ireland final.
P. Kelly; G. Rafferty, S. Sullivan, S. Brady; B. Darby, P. McConway, N. Grennan; C. McManus, A. McNamee; D. Egan, N. Smith, P. Keelaghan; T. Deehan, J. Reynolds, N. McNamee. Subs: B. Quinlan, R. Fox, J. O’Hara, J. Coughlan, G. Comerford, S. Lonergan, G. Grehan, N. Kelly, W. Mulhall, S. Ryan, R. Connor, A. Mulhall, J. Keane. K. Slattery.
A Masterson; C Morris (C), P Wallace, B Malone; A Morrissey, D Murphy, N Murphy; B Doyle, E Bradley; S Roche, R Barry, A Flynn; C Lyng, PJ Banville, M Forde.
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