Shane Duffy's bravery despite horror injury amazes Darren O’Dea

O’Dea was Duffy's central defensive partner on the day he suffered a freak injury that left him in a coma

Wed, 07 Oct, 2020 - 22:07

Ciarán Ó Raghallaigh

With a host of in-form attackers for Stephen Kenny to choose from, it may be no shock that Ireland captain Shane Duffy is a 17/1 outsider to score the first goal against Slovakia.

But the bookmaking analysts could regret their cool attitude to the centre half — who has scored more competitive goals than any other Ireland player in the last two years.

In that time, Ireland have played 13 competitive games, with just eight goals scored – two of which came from Duffy’s head.

Robbie Brady, Matt Doherty, David McGoldrick, Jeff Hendrick, Conor Hourihane and an own goal account for the rest, a paltry return for any team.

With Ireland still developing in the very early days of Stephen Kenny’s reign, it’s harsh to expect too much from the new coach, but set pieces will always be an option for any team — young or old.

Duffy has two goals already for new club Celtic this season, and the Derry man’s been a threat on many other occasions, given his desire to attack the ball in the opposition half.

Ironically, it’s that very desire that almost cost him any chance of a professional career just over a decade ago.

On that day, Darren O’Dea was his central defensive partner when a Giovanni Trapattoni select faced Ireland’s amateur team in Malahide. A ball was whipped into the box, where Duffy attacked the ball — and was left slumped on the ground after a collision with the goalkeeper.

The Derry man’s liver had been sliced open, draining him of three litres of blood, and as he fell into a coma, his father Brian was warned that he might lose his son.

“His dad and uncle had an horrific wait...and we only realised the next day how bad it was when we went to see him in the hospital,” O’Dea said.

“You’re usually thinking how long will a player be out, but to hear the news from his dad’s perspective, it was just horrific. It was incredible work from the doctors to save his life. We remember seeing the scar — it was huge.

“From thinking about back him getting back playing to thinking about him just getting his life back, it was really something else.”

Duffy didn’t make his Ireland debut until four years later, but now O’Dea, a coach at Celtic where Duffy is an instant hit — is still shocked how the defender approaches the game.

“I look at Shane now that I’m retired and see how brave he is, how he throws himself at anything, puts his body where it hurts...” he said.

“I’d maybe have been in that mould, thinking ‘that’s your job’ etc.. but now I look and think I wouldn’t be surprised if that incident didn’t take something from him, or scarred him.

“The best parts of his game are the bits that accident should have cost him: his aggression, his strength in the air, how he defends the goal.

“He’s as aggressive as any player I’ve seen out there — hard to think as anyone who’s as good in the air.

“It’s a credit to him and how mentally strong he is, that it’s still there.

Duffy will captain Ireland once more on Thursday night, as the 28-year-old approaches his peak.

O’Dea was delighted to see the defender make the move to Glasgow during the summer and believes it’s a sign that the player has his sights set on making history — for club and country.

“For a player in their prime — coming from the Premier League, I was probably a little surprised,” said O’Dea, Celtic’s U18 head coach.

“The elephant in the room is, of course, finance, and that’s why some of the top Irish players, who play in the Premier League but would love to play for Celtic, say ‘the timing’s not right’.

“They mean they want to maximise their earnings, because there’s a hell of a lot more money down there.

“I think everything needs to fall in place and things just aligned for Duffy.”