Flynn back for Dublin after groin troubles

By Arthur Sullivan

Paul Flynn missed out on a fifth consecutive All Star award in 2015, but having won his third All-Ireland senior medal last September he can't have too many complaints about the past year.

Flynn entered special territory when he won his fourth consecutive All Star in 2014 , and September's All-Ireland final win over Kerry has surely earned Flynn and most of his teammates the status of Dublin legends in the future, regardless of what the next few seasons bring for the capital city side.

Yet, Flynn seems just a little bit hard on himself when he reflects on his individual performances in 2015.

"I definitely didn't hit the heights last year that I hit in 2014," he said at the launch of Setanta Sports' live Allianz League coverage on Wednesday in Dublin. "I probably played as well, if not better, than I did in 2011. It's just that your own standards are rising each year."

Marked out regularly in recent seasons as the most consistent and complete footballer in Ireland, the Fingallians man found his best form in the All-Ireland series games last year, performing well in the two games against Mayo before an excellent display in the final against Kerry, when he kicked two vital points in the second half.

"The first game against Longford, I didn't do too badly either," Flynn points out as he reflects on last summer's performances as a whole. "The next two games I didn't score. If I'd scored the points, it would have been fine. But yeah, in the All-Ireland series I started getting better. Sport is a funny thing. You can come in and out of form. Some days it's on, some days it's not."

Flynn dismisses the idea that 2014 was the highest point he can reach in the game, in terms of personal performance, but he admits it was a particularly special time for his game.

"I was - sports people talk about being in the zone - I was just comfortable, confident, and in every game I felt I was going to get scores," he explained.

"Every game I felt that I was going to get scores. Every game I felt my passes were finding the man, I was going to win the kick-outs, I was going to find myself in the right place for breaks. Everything felt like it was easy, in my own head it was easy. There can be times when you are playing a game when you can be constantly battling with yourself. I need to get on the next ball, I need to make the next pass. In 2014 it was a flow."

Somehow though, all this talk of individual performance seems redundant in the context of Jim Gavin's Dublin, where the importance of the collective is emphasised time and time again by management and players alike. And in terms of the collective, Flynn identifies last season as being a particularly special year in the life of the current Dublin team.

Dublin won everything they played for last year, the All-Ireland, a third Allianz League title in a row, another Leinster title - they even won the O'Byrne Cup - and Flynn says that there was something about last year's group that was unique.

"The first one (2011) was very special but last year we just had this group and it was the best craic I ever had throughout a year, whilst working hard and having a very competitive environment," he said.

"We were always challenged, always feeling like you have to perform in training and everything like that. But when we had any training camps or any training sessions as a group we had the best craic ever. If you are enjoying your football that much, it just makes it so much easier and that's what makes me look forward to 2016 so much."

This time last year, Flynn underwent surgery on a groin injury, keeping him out of the early rounds of Dublin's league campaign. The problem flared up again towards the end of the league, and while Flynn didn't miss any matches for Dublin in the championship as he managed the problem, it caused a long lay-off for him after the All-Ireland final, something he is only returning from now.

Flynn was scheduled to have his first running session since recovering from the problem last night, having "downed tools" for three months after the All-Ireland final.

"When we finished up, I went back playing with the club and it just got worse and worse," he said. "I wasn't doing them any favours and I definitely wasn't doing me any favours. So I gave it the rest it needed.

"It was the first time I did that in a while. So it felt good. I took three months off and just started a good rehab programme there at the start of January. That continues now over the next few weeks."

A second operation was not required for the problem, with a long period of rest prescribed instead. Flynn says the injury is complex due to the complicated structure of the groin but he says it didn't affect his performances adversely in 2015.

"Once a game came around, I was good to go," he said. "Some of the training sessions, I would have had to pull back a bit and I may not have been able to put in as much as the lads or I might have had to train a different way. I might have been doing more low-impact stuff. But look, it's not different from any player. Every player has niggles. I had very few injuries over the last while.

"I was very lucky. It was only a matter of time really. Because everyone gets chronic injuries really, given the way we abuse our bodies. Training effects lads that way. Some lads have shoulder injuries. Some lads have knee injuries. Unfortunately, I have a groin injury and it's a bit complex."

The complexity of the problem meant Flynn's rest period was total - he says he couldn't even find his boots when it was time to play again - and he found the period particularly difficult as he watched his club side Fingallians play a number of significant games in his absence.

"I didn't do anything," he explains. "It was hard because the club were on a roll and were involved in play-offs. I had to watch them in those play-offs and it was heart-breaking. You feel you owe it to them. I played one or two games and I was doing them no favours. The only thing I did in the three months I would say was a little bit of bike work, a bit of swimming. some upper body weights. No impact."

On Saturday week at Croke Park, the winter cobwebs will fully be dusted off as Dublin take on Kerry in the Division I opener. Flynn is unlikely to be available for selection - he reckons the Cork game on February 26 is a more realistic opportunity for him - but either way he's eager to get back into action, saying he values playing in the league very highly in terms of his and Dublin's preparation for later in the year.

"I've played every league and I feel like you build your form. You have ups and downs, you can work on things. For us collectively the league has been very good to Dublin over the last number of years. But individually as well. You get your match fitness up, you get really good competitive games against Division I teams.

"You can work through your form. You don't mind if you have a bad game. But you reflect on them. You can reflect on them without the world watching them. You might go under the radar and have a bad game. At least you can say what was it that didn't go well for me today. I like the run of games. And they are quick. If you have a bad game on Sunday, one training session and you can rectify it the next week and work on it. I love the window of four or five games in a row. It's nice for a footballer."

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Setanta Sports will bring 17 exclusively live games to viewers across Ireland in 2016 . All-Ireland Champions Dublin will begin their league title defence with a Saturday evening fixture against Kerry at Croke Park which will be shown on Setanta Ireland, January 30 at 7pm.