Comer declares himself fit to face Rossies amid latest injury battle
Galway footballer and Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps ambassador, Damien Comer, right, pictured with James Lynskey at Croke Park for the launch of the 2025 Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps. Pic: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
Damien Comer has declared himself fit for Sunday's Connacht SFC semi-final against Roscommon but conceded that his injury battles have been hugely frustrating and 'mentally challenging'.
The powerful Galway forward has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons, from knee and hamstring problems to a groin injury most recently though he traces it all back to a bad ankle injury in late 2018.
The Annaghdown man said he hasn't been injury-free and playing regularly since 2022, when he won an All-Star, and he launched his most recent comeback last month.
Comer had missed all of the league but enjoyed a remarkable cameo when he blasted 1-2 from the bench against Dublin at Croke Park before starting against Kerry.
Everything was looking good for the 31-year-old though fresh fears were raised when he sat out Galway's Connacht SFC opener against New York.
"I travelled over to New York but it was probably the advice of the medical team and management not to take part, especially with the surface," said Comer. "I trained and played on it (artificial grass) before down in Bekan and it took me a while to recover after it. It was probably a risk that wasn't worth taking."
But the full-forward said he is in contention for a place in Sunday's crucial clash with Roscommon at Hyde Park.
"Yeah, I hope so," he nodded.
The bigger picture is the mental toll that all the setbacks have had on the schoolteacher. Galway reached the 2025 All-Ireland final but Comer said he was curtailed by injuries, describing the season as 'terrible' for him personally.
Asked if the constant cycle of injuries is sustainable as an inter-county player, Comer shook his head.
"Probably not to be honest," he said. "It's just mentally challenging more than anything. For me, you don't know what's coming down the line.
"Aside from that, for your teammates as well, just knowing whether you're going to be playing and available or not is frustrating. Last year was very frustrating all round. I think I saw TJ Reid saying he'll be playing until he's 40 - I can guarantee you I won't be.
"I look at some lads and envy them that they can train 100 percent and give it everything every day they go out training. I was that player a few years ago but obviously now it's not the same."
And yet Comer still has the capacity to burn the very defenders as he displayed against Dublin's David Byrne in that brief cameo against Dublin.
In just 25 minutes, Comer got three shots away at goal, hitting the net with one, firing another just over and dragging the other wide. He won two advanced marks, one of which he converted himself and another which led to John Maher's deflected goal.
"It was probably my first time playing since the All-Ireland last year," said Comer. "I probably felt like I wouldn't have played near my potential in any of the games last year, in the quarter-final, the semi or the final. Obviously there was the lack of work I was able to put in at the time but expectations were high even though my base was low.
"So there was a bit of all of that coming out (against Dublin). And it was also just being back out in Croker again, trying to show what you can do with a bit of work behind you."
Comer did turn in a man of the match performance in last year's Connacht SFC against Mayo, a fixture that will be repeated at the final stage this year if both teams win their semi-finals this weekend.
"We always have good battles with the Rossies," cautioned Comer. "Roscommon have serious forwards, even on their bench, they're well stacked up front."
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