Injuries clear for Donegal ahead of Tyrone game
Injuries clear for Donegal ahead of Tyrone game
Injuries clear for Donegal ahead of Tyrone game
By Arthur Sullivan
Mark McHugh, Martin McElhinney and Paddy McGrath should all be available for Donegal's Ulster Championship Preliminary Round clash against Tyrone on May 17 after overcoming recent injury concerns.
McHugh (ribs, quad), McGrath (knee) and McElhinney (groin) all suffered injuries in recent weeks, but Mark McHugh confirmed he was back in training while speaking at the Ulster Championship launch on Wednesday night , while his manager Rory Gallagher said McElhinney and McGrath were available again.
"I haven't really trained in the last three weeks," said McHugh in Donegal Town last night. "I got back training on Monday so I have been hampered a bit. I cracked my rib against Dungloe in a club match and then when I got back, I tweaked my quad again - the same old, recurrent quad injury.
"So it has been hampered alright but we still have 12 days and we are going away now this weekend. It's going to be what I need over the next 12 days to get me right and if the management of the team sees fit to pick me, whether I'm fit for the full hour I'm not sure."
Meanwhile, Gallagher said he expects to have both McGrath and McElhinney available for the clash against Tyrone on Sunday week.
McElhinney picked up the groin injury in training last month, but Gallagher was confident he would be able to call upon the St Michael's man against Tyrone.
"He was out for the guts of three weeks, he picked up a groin strain," said Gallagher. "But again he's back in full training as well. You would have liked him to have had a free run at it but he will be fit to play."
As for McGrath, Gallagher said the player was fit again after a minor knee injury. "Paddy McGrath got a wee bang on his knee in a club game there on Sunday week last. We expect him back at training by Friday," he said.
The only significant injury concern Gallagher has ahead of the match against Tyrone - the fourth Ulster Championship meeting in five years between the counties - is Darach O'Connor, the Buncrana forward having picked up a knee injury against Tyrone in the Ulster U21 Championship final early last month.
Donegal head to the Lough Erne resort just outside Enniskillen today for a four-day training camp ahead of the game with Tyrone. Donegal have used the resort for training purposes on a number of occasions in recent years, and Gallagher hopes it will benefit his players ahead of their bid to win a fourth Ulster title in the space of five years.
