Injured Meehan and Burke to miss out as î F‡tharta freshens up football panel

Dara BradleyGALWAY senior football manager Tomás Ó Fátharta has retained 28 players of the 30 involved in predecessor Joe Kernan’s 2010 squad, in his provisional panel for the upcoming season.

The Kerryman, along with selectors Seán Óg de Paor and Martin McNamara, have picked a provisional panel of 41 players, who have been given individual exercise regimes during this winter’s ‘closed season’ on collective training.

Of the 2010 panel of 30 only Cortoon Shamrock’s Michael Martin and Damien Burke, who needs a Gilmore’s groin operation, are not included. Burke opted out but should be back in contention after recovering within three months or so.

Michael Meehan has been included in the 41-man squad but in a big blow to the Tribesmen the Caltra man is expected to miss all of Galway’s 2010 National Football League campaign due to an ankle injury.

Others from the 2010 squad who are injured and who are in Ó Fátharta’s provisional panel include Declan Meehan and Darren Mullahy. Galway’s best player in the championship last season, Killererin’s Pádraic Joyce, is also in the squad.

A total of 13 players have been added to the 28 of the 2010 squad, including Niall Coyne (Carna Caiseal), who was released by Kernan from the panel before this year’s championship.

Eddie Hoare (St Micheal’s), who was unavailable all this year because of injury, has also been drafted back in, while An Spidéal goalkeeper Pádraic Lally, a member of Galway’s 2001 All-Ireland winning squad, has also got the call-up. Lally and Coyne impressed for their clubs in this year’s intermediate football championship. The other newcomers to the provisional panel are: Alan Glynn (St Michael’s), Stephen Kavanagh (Killanin), Paddy Naughton (Barna), Greg Higgins (Corofin), Kieran McGrath (Corofin), Mathias Coleman (Annaghdown), Brian Faherty (Moycullen), Colin Forde (Killererin), Jonathan Ryan (Kilkerrin/Clonberne) and Cathal Kenny (Mountbellew/Moylough). The players called into the panel were among about 70 who took part in three trials held in the past month.

For more, read this week's Galway City Tribune.