Keaney: 'Nothing major' in video message

Conal Keaney has played down the significance of the video message which he sent to his Dublin team-mates prior to their All-Ireland SHC quarter-final against Limerick.

Three-goal hero Ryan O'Dwyer starred in the 3-13 to 0-18 victory last Sunday, after which he said: "We looked at (the video) before the game and I think he got us over the line.

"No team in the country can afford to lose Conal Keaney. We did, and just persevered. It shows character throughout the team."

Keaney's season was brought to an abrupt end by the injuries he received in a traffic accident last Friday morning.

The Dublin forward was riding his motorbike to work in Blessington where he is a sales and marketing manager at the Avon Rí resort.

But he was accidently struck by a van at the junction close to St. Anne's GAA club in Bohernabreena, and sustained injuries to both legs.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, he explained: "The van driver was turning while I was going straight on and he thought he was going to get around before I was coming but he didn't.

"I breaked and then tried to turn away from him but the van was coming closer and closer and we collided.

"I got off the bike but trapped my right foot between the bike and his bonnet. I jumped off the bike then but I landed on my left knee and that's how I did the cruciate."

The Ballyboden St. Enda's clubman suffered damage to his right ankle and a subsequent scan revealed that he has ruptured the cruciate ligament in his left knee.

Dr Ray Moran, brother of former Ireland soccer international and Dublin Gaelic footballer Kevin Moran, will perform Keaney's knee surgery at the Santry Clinic on Friday.

The 28-year-old realises how fortunate he was, given that "over the weekend there were a couple of other bike accidents and the people involved in them died".

"Personally speaking, it's very disappointing at the moment. The team were going well this year and now they've reached the All-Ireland semi-finals," he added.

"In the overall scheme of things, I've no head or spine injuries so it's not too bad considering. But the season is gone and that hurts."

However, his spirits were lifted by the number of people who have wished him well in his recovery - among the messages was one from the Limerick County Board, showing the level of camaraderie that still exists in GAA.

Commenting on the video message he sent to the Dublin camp, Keaney insisted: "Ah, there was nothing major in it. I just wished them the best of luck and told them how good we have been all through the year.

"One bad game (the Leinster final against Kilkenny) didn't make us a bad team and it had changed nothing. We had been going well all year and it would have been a shame to let it stop at the quarter-finals."