David McInerney
By John Harrington
David McInerney’s return to action with the Clare hurlers on Saturday felt like blessed relief for the Tulla man.
He’s endured a hugely frustrating 14 weeks on the sideline rehabbing a back-injury that has ruled him out of action since he played against Limerick in the Allianz Hurling League on March 20th. His back had been giving him some bother before that match, but worsened in the aftermath.
He knew he was in trouble the following morning when he struggled to put on his socks, and the diagnosis was a bulging disc.
Of all injuries, a bulging disc in the back is a devilishly difficult one to get right. Surgery is best avoided if at all possible, but it’s difficult to put a time-frame on your recovery if you put your faith in time as the best healer.
“If you broke your hand at least you'd know this is what I have to do, put it in a cast, and be out of it again in six weeks,” says McInerney. “But with this, you use your back for everything, you wouldn't realise how much you'd use it until it's sore. It's frustrating that way not knowing when you'd be right.
“Feeling good now though, feeling good. Just trying to get back. I missed a few weeks. It's nice to be back on the field, just getting the games in. I didn't feel too bad now to be fair. No ill-effects after Saturday, so happy out.”
McInerney estimates he had only completed “five or six” training sessions before he returned to action against Laois in Saturday’s All-Ireland Round 1 Qualifier. He looked sharp all things considered as he produced a powerful display from centre-back that included scoring three points from play.
If Clare can keep him fit for the rest of the Championship he’ll be a massive asset. But, when it comes to disc injuries, there are no guarantees. For now, McInerney has no plans to undergo surgery to fix the problem once and for all, and is hopeful careful management of the injury will be enough to get him through the campaign.
“At the moment if we manage it right hopefully rest will fix it,” he says. “But we're not really sure at the moment. It might need something. But at the moment it's actually fine.
“I'm trying to manage it, I suppose. I wouldn't be going full belt. The things that I'm doing I'm going full belt, but I can't do everything the lads are doing. I'm just trying to manage it right.”
McInerney lives the dream
Clare produced some great passages of hurling on Saturday against a Laois team that simply couldn’t cope with their speed, skill and clinical finishing. When they won the 2013 All-Ireland title they also bounced back from a defeat in Munster with a dominant win over Laois in the qualifiers.
They look capable of building up the same sort of momentum this year, and McInerney feels there’s a lot more to come from them.
“Yeah, you can see flashes of it in some games,” he says. “I don’t think we’ve hit our maximum potential yet in any game but you can definitely see flashes of 2013. Some of the lads are going very well, others need to maybe pick it up a small bit but I think if we all gel on the day we can take anyone. Flashes of it so far and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Since winning the Liam MacCarthy Cup in 2013, Clare have played seven Championship matches but won just one of them. They also suffered relegation from Division 1A of the League last year. It hasn’t quite been the glorious reign just yet that many predicted after their 2013 success, but McInerney believes the set-backs have made them stronger.
“These knockbacks, they definitely influence you and I suppose they have hardened us up a bit and we just have to learn from these mistakes,” he says. "The last two years we were very disappointed with ourselves and we just said this year that we have to learn from it, develop as players and kick on as best we can.”
“It (2013) does feel like it is a long time ago. Back then we were all young lads and very innocent whereas now we have matured a bit and realised how tough it is to win matches whereas back then we kinda didn’t really care about what was going on.
“We were playing away and we realise now how hard it is to win games. We are mature and we are starting to develop as young lads as well. Tony Kelly is only 22/23 and he is seen as a big leader on the team, whereas you look at the other teams and all the leaders would be late twenties. It’s nice to see.”
Saturday’s Round 2 All-Ireland Qualifier against Limerick will give us a good idea about whether or not Clare really have the leaders they need to kick on from 2013. They lost to Limerick in last year’s Championship by a point, and matches between the two have always been tight. It’s a great opportunity for Clare’s ‘Golden Generation’ to prove their worth again, and McInerney is well aware of just how much is at stake.
“It’s do or die hurling now and there’s no back doors and stuff. There’s only one way you can go so a game against your local neighbours and rivals is something to look forward to.”
