Doyle links cruciate injury rise to pitches

KILDARE’S John Doyle has suggested sand-based pitches could be the reason behind the rise in cruciate injuries among inter-county players.

Dermot Earley is the latest high-profile player to suffer the injury and team-mate Doyle reckons that playing surfaces may have something to do with the multitude of setbacks.

Doyle said: “There is a lot of talk about blades (on boots) and stuff like that. I heard someone talking about sand-based pitches. It is not like years ago when you stopped and a pile of earth came with you. Now the ground is nearly firm all year around. It is hard to know, we have been very unfortunate with them.

“Mikey Conway hasn’t played since 2009. Some people come back reasonably well from it but others, they get it harder. Cork’s Colm O’Neill is in trouble, as is David Moran in Kerry. We can’t put our finger on it but it is definitely a concern.”