Monaghan captain Conor McManus delays hip surgery in case it impacts his football

Conor McManus will delay an inevitable operation on a troublesome hip because of the impact it could have on his football.

The Monaghan captain may also require surgery on his other hip but having gone under the knife for the ailment this time four years ago he’s wary of how much surgery might set him back.

“I had surgery on it before, at the end of 2011, and it took me until the middle of 2012 to get back from it and to be honest it’s not the kind of operation where when you get it done that’s you fixed. There’s a certain amount of rehab you have to do after it.

“So that’s what I’m doing now, I’m doing the rehab and it’s keeping me ticking over and hopefully that will avoid having to go for any further surgeries.”

McManus’ fellow All-Star, Kerry midfielder Anthony Maher, recently had the same operation and won’t be back until next April. As well as the six months out, the Clontibret man fears losing form upon his return.

“It’s a slow one to come back from to really get up to peak performance. That’s what I found — 2012 was fairly okay on my end of things but it took until 2013 until I really felt back to myself. I’m not really looking at taking that time out again.

“It’s just something that’s in your genes and playing a high level of sports triggers it. If you weren’t playing at a high level or playing that often it wouldn’t cause you that much trouble. It’s just about managing it.

“There are times in training over the next 12 months where I’ll have to step back and do rehab for a week or two and then get back into it. That’s been the case for the last two years. Malachy (O’Rourke) and Ryan Porter have been excellent with me and very accommodating.”

Against Australia in Croke Park tomorrow week, McManus is set to form one third of an All-Star full-forward line with captain Bernard Brogan and Aidan O’Shea. GAA HQ hasn’t been the happiest of hunting grounds for him with Monaghan but he dismisses any suggestion it’s a bogey venue for him and the county.

“The only people who make an issue out of that is the media. I think there is more made of that than what needs to be, to be perfectly honest. I see it as a pitch with two sets of goalposts that is no different to anywhere else. We treat it the same as that.” As Monaghan skipper, he’s delighted veterans such as Dick Clerkin have confirmed their availability for next season, with others yet to decide.

McManus has spoken to all the players since the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Tyrone. “That (retirements) is something that probably would have been a worry after the game. Nobody did anything in the immediate aftermath of the game, which was good, because boys would have time to think about it.

“There are a couple of lads that would have been with Monaghan 14, 15, 16 years — you couldn’t blame them if they decided they’d had enough. But obviously there’s been nothing yet. If them boys need until the end of January or February to make up their minds then so be it and come back in when the ground starts to harden up. Hopefully we’ll have a full deck to choose from.”