I thought my career was over, recalls Cooper

Colm Cooper admitted he initially feared he would never play again after sustaining his season-ending cruciate injury last month.

The Kerry captain also revealed he was close to tears as it dawned on him in his own privacy that he would not get the opportunity to lead his county this year.

As he scored that first-half point in the All-Ireland club semi-final in Portlaoise while being challenged, the 30-year-old heard a click in his right knee that he tried to convince himself was his mind playing tricks on him.

But he soon realised he was hurt and unable to continue.

He told RTÉ: “I walked to the dugout and so many things went through my mind. Is this the end of it? Will I be able to play again? I knew there was damage done. Is it cruciate? Is it not?

“But that’s sport, it’s happened to so many people. It was a big disappointment that day but I’ve come to terms with it now and it’s time to move on.”

Cooper said he has no problem with the nature of the tackle by the Castlebar Mitchels’ defenders that injured his knee.

“The Castlebar lads were coming into get a block and you’d be hoping that your own players would do the exact same if the ball was on the other side of the field. I wouldn’t say there was any malice it, they were trying to get a tackle in. It was just the way I collided and went down.”

Cooper was driven to the Santry Sports Injury Clinic on the Monday after the game by his Kerry team-mate Darran O’Sullivan. Manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice was also there as specialist Ray Moran assessed Cooper’s knee.

When Moran broke the bad news, Cooper’s reaction was one of devastation. “My heart sank. He said ‘Colm, I don’t really know how to tell you this but you can’t beat around the bush either. You’ve done quite a bit of damage to your knee, fractures and cruciates and different kinds of things’.

“I remember putting my hands to my head and saying, ‘well, that’s my year out’. After the initial heart-sinking moment, I was actually kind of cool about it. I said, ‘okay, where do we go from here’ and drew timelines and stuff. He said ‘2014 is probably gone but don’t worry, we’ll get you back. Just be patient’.”

Cooper recalled when he returned to his home from Dublin the impact of the injury hit him hard. “Coming down with Darran, we were chatting and (saying) it is what it is in the car. But I remember coming to Killarney in my own house and having those quiet moments. Huge disappointment. ‘What will I do for the summer? It won’t be the same’.

“For 12 years, I’ve known no different, preparing for Championship, Munster finals and getting to Croke Park. It was ‘how do I fill this void in my life?’ They were the things that went through my mind, and to be quite honest, there was nearly an odd tear there as well because football means so much to you.

“It was difficult but since then I’ve come to terms with it. I’ll be able to watch games, I’ll be able to go to games, I’ll be to do things I haven’t done in my life before. Maybe go on holidays in the summer, which I don’t know what it feels like.

“Go to the weddings of friends of mine instead of not being able to go because of matches. I can’t take it as a positive but I’m trying to make the best of what’s a difficult situation.”

He said Colm O’Neill’s return from a third cruciate operation buoys him. “When you see the likes of Colm O’Neill returning, that kind of inspires you and shows what can be done that a guy can come back after three cruciates.”

Cooper will return to a Dr Crokes side under new management after joint managers Noel O’Leary and Vince Casey stepped aside after a meeting of players on Friday night.

The pair led the Killarney club to two county and Munster crowns as well as several other titles in Kerry during their two-year reign.

Former Kerry manager and club member Pat O’Shea is the players’ favourite to take over. However, he may not be in a position to take the job because of his job as Munster’s football development manager.