Con O'Callaghan and James McCarthy in 'a race against time' for semi

RACE AGAINST TIME: Con O'Callaghan of Dublin in action against Tadhg Morley of Kerry during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final Replay match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Dublin footballers James McCarthy and Con O’Callaghan are in “a race against time” to be right and ready for the county’s All-Ireland semi-final in a fortnight, according to manager Dessie Farrell, who refused to reveal the nature of the pair’s injuries.

McCarthy and O’Callaghan were not part of the Dublin matchday panel for Saturday evening’s 11-point All-Ireland quarter-final win over Cork, with Farrell remarking that the pair’s absence contributed to a dip in the Dublin performance.

“Obviously, it’s very disappointing for the lads themselves to miss out on today, and it had a huge impact on the team as well - captain and vice-captain and two rock solid players. So yes, that was probably a factor in today’s overall performance for sure,” said Farrell.

“Injuries are part and parcel of the game at this level, and you have to be resilient. There’s a level of acceptance around them, as well, so it’s pretty much a race against time now for two weeks.

“To be picking up an injury now at this time of year is tough and we’re all hands on deck in terms of our medical staff in terms of trying to get the lads right.” 

When asked if McCarthy and O'Callaghan were troubled by hamstring injuries, Farrell kept shtum.

"I’d prefer not to say if that’s ok, but we’re working hard to get them right for the next day," he replied.

The Dublin boss reckoned the month’s break since their Leinster final contributed significantly to a sluggish first half opening from his charges.

“The first half obviously wasn’t what we would have wanted, we picked it up in the second half, but probably the four-week lay-off didn’t help.

“It took us a while to shake the cobwebs, but we strung some good passages of play together in the second half and we were a little bit better.

“I’d probably give it a six and a half out of ten performance from our perspective. And we know that there needs to be a big, big improvement for the next one.

“I’d definitely expect a major step-up in class for the next day, regardless of who the opposition is (Kerry or Mayo). Either opponent is going to bring its own set of circumstances, history, and tradition to it too.”