O’Sullivan on way back for Kingdom

Declan O’Sullivan will return to training with Kerry next week ahead of their final Division 1 game against Cork in Tralee on Sunday week.

The Dromid Pearses man was not expected to feature for the majority of league games after agreeing an extended break from football with manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice. The four-time All-Ireland winner will return to the fold after this weekend’s game away to Westmeath.

Kieran Donaghy and Killian Young are closer to seeing action than O’Sullivan but won’t be considered for the trip to Mullingar. The pair have ramped up their rehab programmes and were put through their paces on the Fitzgerald Stadium pitch prior to the win over Tyrone earlier this month.

Donaghy and Young, along with O’Sullivan, will be part of the Kerry squad that fly out to Portugal on April 17 for a five-day warm weather camp.

For the second season in succession the squad will work at the Amendoeira Golf Resort in the Algarve.

The county returned from last year’s trip to beat Tyrone in their final-round league game in Omagh where, coupled with Dublin’s draw in Donegal, meant they survived in the top flight.

A win over Westmeath will lift them to six points, all but guaranteeing their Division 1 status with the live possibility of a semi-final berth should they beat Cork in Tralee the following Sunday.

The semi-finals take place on April 13, four days before Kerry head out, and the final is scheduled for April 27.

Kerry will be keen to reach the league semi-finals as it would bridge the gap to their June 21/22 Munster semi-final meeting with either Clare or Waterford.

Should the home game against Cork be the last game of the league, they will have a yawning 11-week gap until that championship opener.