Delaney: Door will never be closed on ‘Cha’

KILKENNY defender JJ Delaney has insisted the door will never be closed to James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick should the midfielder reverse last week’s decision to retire from inter-county hurling.

The Ballyhale Shamrocks player last week called time on an honour-laden career having failed to break back into the first 15 after an extended period out through illness.

Fitzpatrick, 26, has dismissed speculation linking him to a move to Dublin where he works and that declaration came as far less of a surprise to Delaney than the news of his former colleague’s exit from Brian Cody’s squad.

“He’s wicked proud for Ballyhale,” said Delaney. “His family are involved and he’d have to change club to change county. He’s a primary schoolteacher as well so he’d be down in Kilkenny for the summer and he’d have to drive back up to Dublin. I can’t see it happening. He has it in his head that he’s going to go travelling for a year or two. He might come back or else he might not come back. We would always be hoping in Kilkenny. There’s no-one shutting the door on Cha. I’d be very surprised to see him going anywhere else, but you don’t know.”

Delaney can understand Fitzpatrick’s reasons for walking and pointed to the packed schedule he has lived with for both club and county in recent years but he still believes that the three-time All Star will miss the cut and thrust of championship hurling come the summer. Fitzpatrick was kept out of the Kilkenny team this year by Michael Fennelly and Michael Rice, both of whom received All Stars, but the worry is that such a gifted player has been squeezed out by a game where physicality is an ever-more valuable commodity.

Delaney believes Fitzpatrick’s skill set will never go out of fashion.

“You’d pay money to go in and watch Cha hurl. He just makes it look so easy. He just gets it and delivers great ball into the forwards. If I was a forward, I’d love to play with Cha because he just puts it in your pocket.”

The Kilkenny panel were handed their off-season training programmes last Saturday and Delaney is eager to make the most of his remaining years as an inter-county player. Henry Shefflin’s latest injury woe has steeled that resolve.

Shefflin will miss the league after undergoing surgery on a shoulder injury and Delaney has no doubt but that his team-mate will return to his best, just as he did after two cruciate ligament layoffs. “We had our medals presentation last Thursday week and (RTÉ’s) Brian Carthy interviewed him when he got his medal and you could tell by the tone in his voice that he’s going to get back. He’s so focused and if I was to back anyone to get back it’d be Henry.