How Kerry exit could re-energise Tommy Walsh

Don’t get too heavy-handed with the pity sighs. Tommy Walsh’s decision to opt out of the Kerry football set-up is a burden-lifting result for the Tralee man, writes Tony Leen.

There’s been scarcely any enjoyment for the 28-year-old in green and gold over the past two seasons, and no-one on the management team enjoyed seeing him struggle with his football either.

Such was the giddiness surrounding Walsh’s return to the then All-Ireland champions ahead of the 2015 campaign that few paused to consider how medically challenging the hamstring detachment - the type that ended Paul OConnell’s career - would be to recover from.