Fintan backs brother Dave to bounce back

DAVID GOOLD became the latest Cork senior attacker to undergo cruciate surgery last week when he had an operation to repair the damaged ligament in his knee in Santry and his older brother Fintan has revealed the recovery of teammates Colm O’Neill and Ciarán Sheehan has fuelled his optimism as he seeks to return from a long spell on the sidelines.

Earlier this month David became the third member of the Cork senior setup to tear his cruciate over the last 12 months, but the recovery of his 2009 All-Ireland U21 winning colleagues is sure to be a huge assistance in his own rehabilitation.

“He’d his surgery now during the week so I guess he’s on the road to recovery now,” revealed Fintan, who was part of the Cork side that claimed McGrath Cup success last Sunday.

“It’ll definitely help David having seen a guy like Colm (O’Neill) come back from it and Ciarán (Sheehan) to be on the way back from it. When we were down training during last summer, we could see those guys working hard in the gym. It’s a long and lonely road I guess.

“But when you do come back, I think it has whetted the appetite and you realise what you have missed out on. When these guys come back, knowing the calibre of person they are, they’ll be mad for road. He might be back before this year is out but his number one priority is to get himself right. With an injury like that, you can’t be rushing it. But you never know.”

Cork travel to the Athletic Grounds next Sunday to face Armagh in their opening league tie and Goold believes there is a greater focus in the squad this spring in comparison to last year when they came off the back of their 2010 All-Ireland triumph.

“I feel we’ve had more time to focus. Guys are hungry it looks to me. They’re training hard and looking forward to the year ahead. Last winter we were coming off winning an All-Ireland and there are certain things that happened then and go with winning an All-Ireland.

“We won’t be going out during the league and taking the foot off the gas.’’