Fitzmaurice has absolute belief in Kerry squad

When news broke of Colm Cooper’s torn cruciate last February, Dara Ó Cinnéide still managed to find some positives.

Drawing from experience, the three-time All-Ireland medal winner reckoned the loss of the county’s marquee forward would stir the squad’s lesser-known members to vie for centre-stage.

“I remember back in 2004 when Seamus Moynihan and Darragh Ó Sé were injured and missed a good part of the summer. It was a motivating factor that people said we couldn’t cope without the pair. That was being thrown out there all the time that we couldn’t do without them,” he recalled.