Ó Sé expects Kerry star Kennedy to miss U20s' opener

The Kingdom starlet wil be part of the senior panel's Portugal trip.

Thu, 02 Apr, 2026 - 13:13

Murt Murphy

Tomás Ó Sé has confirmed that his star player Tomás Kennedy will be part of his Kerry U-20 squad, but will likely not be available for the Kingdom’s bow in this year's competition.

The Kerins O’Rahillys man was introduced in Kerry’s Allianz League Division 1 final defeat to Donegal last Sunday, and is set to be part of Jack O’Connor’s senior squad that heads to Portugal for a pre-championship training camp next week.

“He’ll be part of the panel," said Kerry legend, Ó Sé. "It’s not ideal for us, in terms of not seeing him as often as we would like to, but we’ll have him for the matches.

“No, he won’t be back for the game, and that’s fair enough. I understand where they’re coming from. I’d say they’ll get an amount of tactical stuff done in Portugal, and they’ll get time.”

Kerry will probably be away to Tipperary on Thursday night next but the An Ghaeltacht man doesn't expect to see Kennedy on the field.

“I can’t see him being involved. That hasn’t been confirmed, but that’s what I’d expect, and I’m happy with that. We knew it early, the boys have been good to us.

“There have been four or five of the boys in early doors with the seniors, and the senior management have been good to us, in releasing them back in plenty of time. Tomás has obviously made a huge impact with them. Paddy (Lane) would have made a huge impact with them, only that he got an injury at the wrong time."

He continued: “I’ve no doubt that the seniors are doing us a favour, because they could have held onto Paddy as well. Tomás made a huge impact, got a bit of an injury which went against him, but he’s back now.

“That’s the state of play. Hopefully, we’ll have him, but just look around the country. Every team you look at, I was watching Donegal play last night, and they had three or four lads inside. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

“I don’t have the full logistics of it, but we’re all on the one page. We’ll do everything to make sure that he’s available when he can be available.

“If the match was on a Saturday, he couldn’t play on a Thursday night. We’ll just have to look at that but, in fairness, that’s out of my hands. The boys are working away with that.

“He will be available to us, and that’s what we’re planning for.”