Patient Tony Kelly bides time with Clare

Tony Kelly has resigned himself to the likelihood of not playing a competitive game for Clare until the Munster championship showdown with Waterford.

The 2013 Player of the Year suffered ankle ligament damage in January and was ordered to take three months off. He’s currently seven weeks into that recovery period, though is still wearing a protective boot and reckons his best chance of featuring in the Allianz League is if Clare reach the final.

Attacker Kelly said he could return sooner, if badly needed, but has been told that the extra down time will stand to him in the long-term.