'Hugely disappointed' Tony Brosnan to miss out on All-Ireland final with Kerry

Kingdom danger man ruled out with recurrence of respiratory condition as management ponders selection for Sunday

OUT: Tony Brosnan will miss Sunday's All-Ireland final

KERRY attacker Tony Brosnan is out of Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC final against Dublin. The Dr Crokes forward is struggling with a recurrence of a respiratory condition and will not be available to Jack O’Connor and his selectors.

Kerry management will name their 26 for the final Thursday night and Brosnan’s absence is a blow. He had scored 1-9 to date in the championship but in a final of tight margins, he is a significant loss in terms of attacking changes.

Kerry GAA confirmed in a statement Wednesday that the corner forward would miss Sunday's season climax.

"The sharpshooter from Dr. Crokes is suffering from a recurring respiratory problem and will be out of action for this weekend. This is of course hugely disappointing for Tony himself, his family, the whole Kerry team and our supporters," a statement said. "We at Kerry GAA wish to firstly offer Tony best wishes for a speedy recovery and also acknowledge his contribution and commitment to this Kerry squad over the season thus far. We all hope to see Tony on the pitch again very soon."

Had Brosnan made a bit more impact when introduced on 55 minutes against Derry in the semi-final, he could have been in the conversation to start Sunday. 

It is the second time Brosnan has been struck down by a debilitating lung problem. Three seasons ago he missed the latter stages of Dr Crokes campaign with a similar issue.

The return to the squad of Killian Spillane, who has been rehabbing an ankle injury, is timely in terms of inside forward options. Nevertheless, it lessens Jack O'Connor's impact options off the bench at the very least. Donal O'Sullivan Down saw plenty of League action in the Kerry attack, but the expectation is that in terms of first into the full forward line, the returning Spillane will be the call.

At the Irish Examiner’s Gaelic football podcast live event in Killarney on Tuesday night, Oisin McConville suggested that Paul Geaney could be the one to lose out if Kerry were to start Stephen O’Brien but Brosnan’s absence renders that discussion moot now, one would think.

More likely that it’s a straight contest between O’Brien and Adrian Spillane for the No 12 jersey. Former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice told the live audience he’d start the Kenmare man, but acknowledged that it would remove an ace from Kerry’s bench – and impact from the subs may be the ultimate deciding factor on Sunday in Croke Park.

The case for starting Gaeltacht flyer Briain O’Beaglaoich at wing back is well established given his recent form but it would be a big call to leave out Rathmore’s Paul Murphy in his stead.