Positive news on the injury front

Willie Joe
Photo: RTÉ

When he spoke to the press after the Galway game, James Horan may have been reflecting on defeat on the night under the Dome, but what he had to say about player availability for the forthcoming National League campaign was pretty positive.

Speaking with the Mayo News this week (paper and digital variants), the first bit of good news James confirmed was that long-term absentee Jason Doherty – who has done a double cruciate rehab since he last lined out for Mayo against Donegal in the Super 8s clash at MacHale Park in Augusut 2019 – is fully fit and ready to go. While he wasn’t able to get to Bekan for the Galway match on Friday night – on that, James stated “you know what’s happening around the world, so he just couldn’t be here” – he could well feature in the League opener against Donegal at the end of the month.

There’s positive news too about Cillian O’Connor who, according to the manager, is back training with the squad and “is making great progress.” James did, however, caution that Cillian has still a bit to go and that he “won’t be playing for the first couple of games.” All the same, the thought of having Cillian back in action for at least part of the League campaign has to count as a real bonus.

Aside from that, James confirmed that everyone else is expected to be fit and available for selection against Donegal. Some of the players have niggles and some are doing rehab but there are no serious injury concerns and the expectation is that we’ll head to Markievicz Park with “a strong group.”

Whether or not that group includes Oisín Mullin remains a matter of speculation. James was fairly tight-lipped when the question was put to him by Mike Finnerty on Friday night and all he said then was that “It’s a difficult situation and Oisín and his family deserve the time and space to work through it.”

Colm Keys has a piece on the issue in today’s Irish Independent (here) but this adds nothing to what’s known already. The bottom line is that it’s not clear what the situation is with the Kilmaine player but, given that pre-season training has now started Down Under, the position should be clarified soon, certainly before the League gets underway in a bit over a fortnight from now.

47 thoughts on “Positive news on the injury front”

  1. Great to hear Jason Doc is nearing a return. Has been desperately unlucky with injury, and we’ve missed him badly.

  3. Thanks for the positive news and headline WJ…it gave me a lift…..what the hellis qrong with me that this sport means so much??

  4. It’s absolutely crucial that we keep Mullin…we cannot afford to lose a talent like him. Did you notice the lad that played for Kerry last week..powerful midfielder…just back from Australia. Also, the impact the two lads had for Tyrone last year in the final…back from Australia..and don’t forget Kilkenny coming back to play for Dublin 10 years ago.

    Some people say that it’s forwards we need. Well we always needs forwards. We also need a top class talent around the middle of the park ..and we don’t have too many of them right now either.

    There has been a lot of debate in the last few days about the poor performances of ourselves and Knockmore against Galway and Pearses. However, at this stage of the season, the only thing we should be really worried about is whether we can hold on Mullin.

  5. New report in Geelong advertiser responding to recent reports of Oisin not moving yet , they fully expect Oisin to join in next few weeks 🙁

  6. I think as JH said Oisin and family deserve privacy on this. I am sure they are a lot more knowledgeable about whats going on than we are and our speculation is unhelpful.. Big decisions, great player. Hope everything works out ok and that whatever decision arrived at has positive consequences.

  8. The physical conditioning other AFL recruits have on then now that they’ve returned is quite impressive. Okunbor in Kerry has come back in unbelievable shape.

  9. 14 weeks till we play Galway in 2022 championship and it only 13 months ago we played in the 2020 all Ireland final . Crazy times .

  10. I don’t think it’s fair to speculate on anyone’s relationship status on a public forum.
    We’ll find out soon whether he’ll be available to play for Mayo this year, debating whether he should or shouldn’t isn’t helpful I’d imagine.

  11. Great news on Jason Doherty, a great man to win dirty ball and pop a few scores.

    Obviously, as a Mayo supporter like 99 per cent of people on here, I would prefer if Oisín stayed. After all, the management team would probably be looking to build the team around him for the next decade or so. And he would be a major loss to us, no doubt about it.

    But if I were in his shoes, would I stay? The chance to live the life of a professional athlete, to get paid for it (85k AUD as a year one rookie from the figures I saw, plus an additional fee of 5k per game, although I am open to correction on this), and to live in a sunny climate all year round are hard to pass up. And if he does make it to the AFL, the average salary is 363,000 AUD, or €232,000 per year. Not too shabby, especially when the likely alternative that Mayo GAA has to offer is a job in Allergan or some form of yellow-pack Cúl Camp gig.

    I also know several people from my Leaving Cert class who emigrated to Australia, and none of them have come back or expressed any regrets about their decision to go. This is especially the case with lads who have gotten involved with a local Sheila, as the window for return greatly diminishes once marriage and kids are involved. As an emigrant myself, family, friends and your local community tend to move on fairly quickly once you’re gone, and they’ll more than likely still be in the same place if you ever decide to come back.

    It’s also very possible that the window for winning Sam with us has passed for the next several years, given our recent abject final display and general under-performance at underage levels in the last decade or so.

    So hopefully he stays, but it’s hard to give much credence to the reasons trotted out as to why Mayo is a better bet than Oz.

  12. I think he would be mad not to at least give it a go for a year and will probably love with regret if he doesn’t .
    However , it is an incredibly difficult decision for him on a personal level as well.
    I think we can say for sure it’s not a done deal and I’d be leaning heavily towards him not going now

  13. I’ve seen some great points about Oisin on his blog for the past few months and while it’s is hard for us to see why he would leave Mayo when we are so close to an All Ireland but it has to be seen as a once in a lifetime decision ,
    If you were to asked Pearse Hanley would he swap it all for a chance to have been part of the great Mayo team of the last decade and possibly be the X factor that got them over the line I would say he would reply something like this “ while it was a dream to win an All Ireland with Mayo and how great it would have been to be part of that team I just couldn’t trade it for the lifelong friends/teammates I’ve made over my career , for the 129 Brisbane lions caps and my 40 Gold Coast caps I’ve gotten, for winning my Marcus Ashcroft Medal, for setting up my successful business that will probably help financially for my future(not to mention the 600k Aussie dollar per annum playing contract)or for the best few years of my life in a sun drenched, bbq ridden country with my family and friends”
    So I think while it’s easy for many on here to say Mayo GAA should do everything possible to keep him , they may be able offer cars and jobs but they could never offer the opportunity than Australia could ,
    Best of luck Oisin and your family on your decision and whatever happens we will be 100% behind you on this Island or the big one down under.

  14. I hope Oisin makes the correct decision for him and his family. I would hate to see him end up at 33 or 34 with 6 or 7 all Ireland defeats under his belt (he already has 2) and loads of regrets.

  15. Agree with you there Tubberman. I think mentioning the man’s girlfiriends name and relationship status is a bit much. Who’d want to be a country player these days. You’re private life is out the window. Just a commodity for the fans.

  17. Kinda feel that there’s a lot of projection going on here concerning the merits and demerits of players staying or going to Australia. We’ll know soon enough what the outcome of this particular dilemma is.

    Whatever his decision, Mullin has been excellent for us in the couple of seasons he’s been a regular starter and I wish him the best of luck. Ultimately playing gaelic football is a voluntary endeavour and no-one should be made to feel otherwise (which happens far too often, in my opinion).

    None of the Mayo team or coaching staff owe us anything. And indeed I have heard a quite a few stories over the years about players and others who have given everything to the cause, only to be shabbily treated in the end. We only have to look back to last September to see how the season ticket holders were thrown under the bus.

    Theoretical All-Ireland medals don’t butter any parsnips at the end of the day.

  18. Viper – I’m just seeing all these comments now.

    I deleted the original reference you made to the person in question, as I didn’t think it was appropriate for her to be mentioned here, in particular by name. Clearly I should have made specific reference to having done so as I can now see that she’s been referenced again and again since then.

    This is completely out of order. I have a daughter who’s the same age and, as a father, I wouldn’t be impressed if her private life was being held up for public inspection in this way by adults who should have more cop on. As a result, I’m deleting all of the comments which make reference to her and any attempt by anyone to raise this again will be dealt with accordingly.

  19. @Willie Joe, that’s fair enough but I have no issue in posting a link to the story I am referring to which is in the public domain, if it wasn’t then of course no reference would have been made, but it is.

  20. Viper – I don’t want that angle to the issue mentioned here at all, end of. It’s not directly relevant to the football issue and it involves young people and their lives so isn’t a topic for discussion here. I think I’ve made myself sufficiently clear on this now so that needs to be the end of it.

  21. Glad you deleted that WJ – it’s not right to be discussing any players girlfriend by name here, especially a youngster.

  22. Let’s just let him go then without making any points as why he may want to stay because it may not matter either way what he decides to do.

    According to many here, we are doomed to failure regardless.

    Situations like this may not arise if the GAA showed a bit of leadership and allowed clubs to be compensated by the AFL clubs, but they have blocked this, so shame on them.

  23. Embarrassing to see someone’s private life brought up on the blog and some us of think we deserve the right to here ever bit of information from James Horan.

  24. @TH, the subject has been put to bed but I will say that nobody is delving into anyone’s private life at all, it would be a completely different matter had a story regarding this not appeared with the consent of the individuals mentioned.

    Then I would agree with you completely so while it has been made clear that it is out of bounds and that’s fair enough, I also don’t think continued references should be made either.

    As for injury news etc. I don’t see any reason why fans who support the team should not know what is going on, it’s not a matter of having a “right”, it’s courtesy that’s all.

  26. I am absolutely livid with all the attention on our young player Oisin Mullin. Whether he stays or goes is his own business and it is his life. Mayo will never be short of footballers and Oisins going will give an opportunity to another Mayo player. The world will keep revolving in 2022 and i am very confident with jason and cillian coming back from injuries we will be at the business end of the championship this year and could win the Sam Maguire in 2022

  27. Shocking and depressing that a poster would need to be told not to mention (by name) a players partner.
    I despair at this stage.

  28. @jimbo, that’s right, still plenty talent in Mayo to win an All-Ireland, could easily have won it without Cillian so the loss of Oisin will not be an issue at all and if he decides to stay then reaching another final in 2022 is nearly all but guaranteed considering the quality of the opposition.

  29. Whether Oisín stays or goes is literally no-one’s business but his. He’s an amateur athlete, holds no contracts and has no obligation, moral or otherwise to stay in Mayo. Frankly if I were him and I was reading the tripe that’s been said and written about him over the past two years from people who feel entitled to comment on his professional and personal life, I wouldn’t even be looking over my shoulder. And the fact that an article from a tabloid trash site is online elsewhere doesn’t automatically everyone else needs to lower themselves to that level, especially not on here. Whatever decision he makes, I sincerely hope it is for the right reasons and that it is the right one for him.

    TH, I don’t know if you are referring to the comment I made yesterday regarding Horan, but if you are, I definitely did not imply that. A bit of balance is a good thing.

  31. I wish Oisin all the best whatever he decides.

    I also believe none of us, Viper included, has the right to bring and of the players’ families into this chat even if there are reports about those people elsewhere. Well done WJ.

  32. Only Mayo man starting for NUIG tonight is Tommy Conroy scoring a beauty of a point in the 1st half.
    If you look through all the Sigerson panels, Mayo representation is very low in comparison to Kerry, Galway, Cork, Tyrone and Donegal. We have produced some great young players the last 2 years but talent is limited to that certain few players from 18 to 23 when you look at colleges football. Kerry footballers are dominating colleges football with an all Kerry Tralee IT team beating UCD this evening managed by Aidan O’Mahony. UL and UCC are also flooded with Kerry footballers while some county panelists from Mayo are not making the starting 15 at Sigerson level.

  33. That game has been stopped with an injured player left lying on the pitch for the last nearly 15 minutes – and it looks like it’s absolutely freezing. Obviously no stretcher available nor first aid available at the pitch.

  35. Fionn McDonagh came on and had a big impact for NUIG at wing forward.
    Other than that, mind boggling that something like that could occur at a game in 2022, the GAA really need to have a look at things. You also had Tony Brosnan play for IT Tralee this afternoon and then come on as a sub tonight for Kerry.
    Sean Mulkerrin was in the dome last Friday with the Galway panel, in Dublin tonight with NUIG and hypothetically back in Bekan Friday night, what about training, his club, his studies.

  36. We still havn’t seen the best of Fionn McDonagh, think he’s needs a run of games at Right half forward in the League. Made for Croke Park with that pace he has and one of the few left footed players we have in the Panel. He was one of our best players in the 2019 season but has had trouble with injuries ever since.

  38. Fionn McDonagh was probably westports best player in club championship. Goodvto see him get his foootball career back on track. Potential midfielder.

  40. From 42.ie
    There was 58 minutes gone on the clock when NUI Galway substitute Sean Mulkerrins suffered a worrying-looking knee injury. With an ambulance taking more than half an hour to arrive, it was agreed amongst the teams that NUIG would be awarded a two-point victory.

  41. That’s a shocking situation if described accurately. Best of luck to Mulkerrin in his recovery.

  42. The word on Mulkerrin is, a dislocated knee cap. No idea how long he’ll be out for.
    Be a big loss to Nuig and Galway.
    Hope he has a full and speedy recovery.

  43. Thanks ontheditch I seen that afterwards.
    I was worried it might be a Tom Parsons type injury but it looks like its not that serious but still a bad injury.
    You forget these lads are only kids…….

  45. Interesting looking at the panellists on the Sigerson team. Either there must be a colossal number of Kerry lads going to college or they have an amazing wealth of talented young players because if you play Sigerson, you really are a good player. It is amazing how other counties can match and get the better of Kerry, ourselves included. To be honest I expect Kerry to win AI this year and once they have won it once they could do a Dublin on it. UCC team contains a lot of Kerry players, Tralee almost entirely Kerry, a good gang on UL team including Clifford and then a smattering of Kerry lads in other colleges as well. Their star studded minor teams are now in adulthood. Jack O Connor knew what he was doing, yet its incredible that he used some players who played Sigerson yesterday on his team in their facile win v Tipp last night.

  46. looking at the College teams this year interesting that some members of Mayo panel are not getting their place on teams while players from other Counties not as well know are on the teams, but then again some members of the Mayo panel last year did not make their Club teams for the Senior Club Championship, are the best players on County panel ?.

  47. @culmore

    I think lots of the lads who are involved in intercounty panels and play in sigerson might be more commited to training with their county.

    Unless you are a tommy conroy, david clifford et al and have a place pretty much nailed down on a intercounty starting team it would be a hard decison for a manager to say we are dropping you for a lad who is in the mayo panel but hasnt been training with us as hes been training with mayo.

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