Bradley eyes full schedule

DERRY attacker Paddy Bradley insists that he needs to play as many games as possible if he is to be fit for the first-round Ulster championship clash with Armagh on May 16 in Celtic Park.

Top scorer in Sunday’s NFL game against Kerry in Tralee with five points from frees, Bradley admitted afterwards that he was a little concerned about the heel injury which had sidelined him for the past five months.

“It was giving me bother towards the end of the second half. It’s all about getting games at this stage. I’m doing a fair bit of training on my own and with the team for the last few weeks, but it’s matches I need between now and the championship. It’s about trying to get the sharpness back.”

On the defeat to the All-Ireland champions, he felt that Derry weren’t ‘clinical enough’. “On the basis of play and possession, six points would have been a fair reflection,’’ he said, adding: “but we didn’t take our chances. We always knew Kerry were going to come back at us.’’

Meanwhile, Galway attacker Sean Armstrong could miss the rest of the national league campaign after picking up a hamstring injury in Cork.

The Salthill/Knocknacarra club, who skippered the Tribesmen against Cork as part of Joe Kernan’s captaincy rotation, is waiting to establish the extent of the injury. Kernan said that the loss of Armstrong was a big blow in the 1-19 to 1-17 loss to Cork and he is now waiting to see how long he will be out for, with a spell of between three and seven weeks likely.