Royal blow as Reilly to miss clash with Derry
Reilly was hoping to recover from a hamstring injury sustained in the clash with Antrim on February 26 to line out in the Celtic Park tie. But last night, he revealed the showdown with the Oaf Leafers had come a bit too early.
“I’ve made a good amount of progress over the last few weeks and I had been optimistic that I would get back for the Derry game,” said Reilly.
“I was encouraged by the fact that prior to this, I never had a hamstring injury. But despite that, unfortunately I won’t be able to feature on Sunday.
“The hamstring hasn’t healed as quickly as I had hoped. It was a bad enough tear, and I’m still struggling a bit with it.”
But the Navan O’Mahony’s club man has still not abandoned hope that he will able to line out against Mickey Harte’s charges, who have won three games on the trot after losing their opening two contests against Derry and Donegal.
“I’m not yet back training with the rest of the lads and what I’m doing at the moment wouldn’t be up to the same intensity as what they’re at.
“However, I’m getting physio treatment on a regular basis, and hopefully by this time next week I’ll have made enough improvement to be available for selection for the Tyrone game.”
Looking ahead to Meath’s final two league games, Reilly said he was encouraged by the improvement in performance that his county showed in the two-point defeat by Kildare compared to their display in the previous loss to Donegal.
“Of course, anything would have been an improvement on the way we played against Donegal,” he pointed out.
“But aside from that, it was heartening that the lads showed plenty of fight and character against Kildare, and that’s what Meath football is all about.
“Playing Derry and Tyrone won’t be easy for us by any means, but we’ve no reason to fear either of those sides if we play to our potential.”
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
