Sean Kelly is wary of pushing his hamstring problem as a flare means he could be “done for the year.” The Galway captain says it was “a real pain” having to sit out the All-Ireland round robin victory over Westmeath at the weekend.
Kelly is now in a race against time to prove his fitness for the crunch encounter with Armagh in a week and a half. It’s a winner takes all tie with the victor topping the group and going straight into an All-Ireland quarter-final.
The runner up goes into a preliminary quarter-final and faces a treacherous path, having to play three championship games in 14 days and facing a side off a fortnight’s break in the last eight – if they can get there.
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12 months ago the sides met at the same stage of the Championship with Armagh edging Galway out by a point at Carrick-on-Shannon with Sligo’s Markievicz Park the venue for this season’s clash.
Kelly, who was forced out of the Round 1 All-Ireland series win over Derry near the end of the game, said: “I just picked up another knock which is a bit annoying.
“But at the same time we’ll see how the next few weeks go and hopefully I’ll get back as soon as possible. I’m still trying to find the exact timeline. It was just a flare-up of a hamstring injury.
“I was back running, but it’s just about seeing what I can manage this week and then see going forward then how quickly I can get back.
“Hamstrings can just be a bit iffy and you’ve got to make sure it’s right, because if you pull it again, especially around this time, it’s done for the season.
“But injuries come with sport and they are difficult to take at times but it’s just trying to get them right and hopefully I’ll be fit for the next game.”
Kelly has had to deal with a serious ankle issue, which has hampered him over the last year.
“It never gets easier to deal with (injuries) to be honest,” he says. “Missing any kind of Championship game is a real pain, so trying to get fit is the key thing.
“We had nearly a full squad for Mayo and Derry, and then we picked up a few knocks but hopefully going forward we can get everyone back, because it is important.
“While we do have good squad depth there, it’s about getting everyone fit and playing but it gives other lads a chance to step up and get minutes.”
Kelly says it’s too early to call if he’ll be fit for the Armagh game. Damien Comer and Roberty Finnerty both sat out the Westmeath game as well.
“We’ll see how the runs go in the next week or two and I’ll definitely know more next week in terms of what I can and can’t do,” continued Kelly.
“I’m always hopeful, but knowing what you can and can’t do is important too. If you pick up another injury now you could be done for the year.
“But it’s a big game against Armagh coming up and it’s just trying to get everyone back and hopefully get over the line there too.
“It’s kind of seeing how the next two weeks go and seeing how everyone recovers.”
Galway had to fight hard to get on top of Westmeath at Cusack Park and go joint top of the group with Armagh.
“There’s parts of that performance that we wouldn’t be happy with, so we will try to work on that now over the next week or two” said Kelly. But just to get the win was the most important thing, and we’re in a shootout with Armagh the next day now.
“It’s where we wanted to be, two wins from two and hopefully then we can make it three from three. But it’s going to be a really tough battle.”
Galway have yet to concede a goal in five championship matches, giving them a strong platform to build from.
“In fairness we’ve had clean sheets now for all of the games and it’s something you try to stop (goals),” said Kelly.
“Obviously it’s easier said than done sometimes but the three lads in there were really holding their own.
“The Westmeath full-forward line are all quality players too, so just trying to keep them scoreless. In Jack (Glynn), Johnny (McGrath) and Sean (Fitzgerald) it went perfectly well in there and hopefully we can keep that up for the rest of the year now too.”
Kelly isn’t so sure the current structure, with three teams qualifying out of a four team group, is the right one.
It has been heavily criticised in recent weeks; “It is an interesting debate. I know last year now there was good excitement come the last group game.
“Our group could have gone either way. Westmeath missed a point at the very end to beat Tyrone.
“Obviously we missed a free at the end against Armagh and that ended putting us into the prelim. So there is excitement come the last day, but to be honest, there are three teams getting out of a four team group. It’s probably a bit much to be honest.
“In fairness, I don’t make the rules, I am only playing so I haven’t really fully thought about it. Maybe it does need to be looked at.”
Seán Kelly was speaking courtesy of Galway GAA and LGFA sponsor – Supermac’s. Supermac’s has recently announced sponsorship deals with Waterford Senior Camogie, Sligo Minor Football, Kerry GAA (associate sponsor), Laois LGFA, St Patrick’s Juvenile’s in Limerick as well as extending its sponsorship of Clonad Juvenile GAA in Laois and Gort GAA in Galway.
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