Season over for Kildare’s Earley

KILDARE have been rocked by news that star midfielder Dermot Earley has been ruled out for the season after rupturing his newly-repaired cruciate ligament.

Earley had been making good progress after an operation to address a torn cruciate last October and was targeting a return to action in July but must now have his knee scoped to determine the extent of the injury.

The 32-year-old jarred his knee at training and speculation is sure to centre on his future at inter-county level.

The Sarsfields man was unimpressed with the suggestion he might be finished then and it is understood he is intent on being available for Kildare next year, approaching his 34th birthday.

The two-time All Star showed the extent of his determination when recovering from cancer nine years ago to reestablish himself as one of football’s premier midfielders.

Since then he has suffered a series of broken metatarsals as well as a broken collar bone but perhaps his greatest display of character came last June when he lined out for Kildare in an All-Ireland qualifier against Antrim on June 26, just hours after burying his father, Dermot Snr, himself a legendary GAA figure.

He won the admiration of the entire sporting world that evening, when it also emerged he was playing the match with a damaged cruciate, having suffered the injury initially during an earlier league encounter against Laois.