Kennelly confirms return

TADHG KENNELLY is expected to recover from knee surgery in time to line out for the Sydney Swans in their AFL season opener on March 27th.

The Listowel man dislocated his right knee-cap for the second time in his career, reportedly while training with his local Emmets club in November after his involvement in the International Rules series.

“I had a mishap at home and I had surgery when I came back to Australia in December, so I’ve been doing a lot of rehab but I’m back running now and should get a game in before the season starts,” Kennelly told the Swans’ official website. “It’s been frustrating being injured, but I’m definitely on track to play round one. At the moment I’m still seven weeks away from round one, but anything can happen and I’m not going to put myself under any pressure.”

While Kennelly believes his 12-month hiatus from Australian Rules to help Kerry win an All-Ireland title in 2009 benefited his fitness, he felt he was playing catch-up. But he confident he can make more of a telling contribution to Swans’ season this time. “There was a lot of nerves last year having had a year out of the game, and having the season under my belt should see my football come on in 2011.”