Aidan Forker always happy to help Armagh

Whatever it takes to play, Aidan Forker is prepared to do it.

Armagh fought long and hard to arrive at the top table, and the fact they’re still very much in the hunt for medals is enough for 2024 All-Ireland winning captain, Forker to keep going.

The Maghery man will continue to drive Kieran McGeeney's group forward, but he won’t settle for just that as Armagh gear up for an Ulster Quarter-Final encounter with Fermanagh at Brewster Park tomorrow (Saturday).

If it means logging on with a Pilates instructor based in Chile, three or four nights a week at 10pm for an hour, he’s prepared to do that in a bid to push on after an injury plagued 18 months.

“I probably needed ankle surgery for a couple of years,” says Forker, who turned 34 earlier this month.

“Just debilitating. I was waking up every morning struggling to move. I couldn't really run to my left. I couldn't sprint because of the back issue. Chronic low-level pain all the time.

“Maybe waking up in the morning thinking you're back to square one after a rehab session.

“I've been really well looked after by the medical team, Maura (McGeeney), Julie (Davis), helping me with the strength and conditioning side.

“I reached out to a fella. I was very lucky. He's actually based in Chile, and he's from Derrylaughan (Tyrone). He's called Paddy Corey. He's a Pilates instructor.

“The only way I could get myself right, from what I've been reading around, was to do Pilates. So me being me, I got a reformer into the house and I've been doing it every day since.

“I've been on with Paddy three or four times a week for the last six months. Shout out to Paddy. He's not just been a rehab guide, helping me learn Pilates, but also probably a counsellor at some times.

“With the time difference it worked out really well, because I had to jump on with Paddy at about 10 o'clock at night and do an hour session.

“I think that's been the big thing to really help me get over the line along with all the other wee things that you're doing and trying.”

Forker played very little football last year and it’s been a similar story this year, but he feels his body is improving.

“I'm definitely feeling a lot more like myself. I haven't felt like that probably in over a year maybe,” he continued.

“I'm happy to be adding to training. I'm probably nearly a month back in full, so pushing hard. I'm happy being on the pitch injury-free and pain-free.

“It's been a long road for me in terms of surgery and my back - a lot of help from the medical team. I'm happy to be trying to contribute and push to try to play.

“I think I'm moving quite well. I suppose missing pre-season and the majority of the League, it's going to be hard to break in since the boys are going rightly.

“I think it's my turn to maybe contribute in a different sense. That's fair enough. I'm happy to do that, of course, but I'll not accept that too much either.

“I really want to play, and I feel like I can add to it. That's not really a decision for me to make.

“All I can do is control my own approach to training, push hard and drive the boys. That's what we're about, so that's my role at the moment.”

When Armagh reached the promised land, defeating Galway in the 2024 All-Ireland Final, after turning Kerry over in the last four, it marked the end of a tortuous run of heartbreak.

That included four penalty shootout defeats in huge Championship games - two All-Ireland Quarter-Finals and two Ulster Finals.

And even last year they lost another Ulster Final, this time after extra-time to Donegal.

It’s a mark of how difficult Ulster is that they’ve now lost three deciders in a row and haven’t won an Anglo-Celt Cup since 2008 - 18 years ago.

There’s no doubt though that at the minute they’re in the very top tier of sides.

“We worked very hard as a core group for many years to get Armagh to this level,” continued Forker.

“I know the quality that we have, and I feel like there's something there for us in terms of medals again.

“The appetite is there from the group. I think, to be honest with you, the set-up is just second to none.

“I always remind the boys, especially the older lads, that we're living our best days, and we probably don't know it really.

“It's not an easy thing to walk away from. From a very practical point of view, we're in the first division.

“We're at the top table. I feel like, personally, I can add to it, and we can maybe do something. It's going to be hard for sure, but it's hard every year.

“I feel we're right up there with the top teams. That’s where you want to be as an athlete, so we're trying to squeeze as much out of that as possible.”