Cathal McCarron: Back in control

A season-ending injury was one thing, but missing out on an All-Ireland final is completely another for a recovering addict like Cathal McCarron. As the Tyrone defender explains, though, he’s learned how to cope.

Cathal McCarron will tog out on Sunday. Less than a week off crutches, he mightn’t run all too quickly — in fact he mightn’t run at all — but he will emerge from Davin Stand side tunnel out through the Hogan Stand tunnel and onto to the Croke Park pitch with his teammates to be met by a whirlwind of sensations and, for a moment, he will believe he can fly, never mind play.

As he pulls on his socks, he might rub his left knee and curse the scars to the side and below the joint he dislocated against Roscommon in mid-July.