ALAN BROGAN IS the only confirmed absentee for Dublin’s Leinster football championship opener on Saturday June 1st in Croke Park.
Dublin will play Westmeath or Carlow, who meet on May 19th, in that quarter-final clash as they seek to build on yesterday’s Division 1 football league final triumph against Tyrone.
Brogan has not featured since Dublin played against Mayo in last August’s All-Ireland semi-final due to a long-standing groin injury. The experienced attacker was unable to start in that game because of the injury and even when he came on as a substitute, he was forced to come off before the finish.
Manager Jim Gavin confirmed after yesterday’s league final that Brogan is the only player that he is definitely planning without for that provincial opener.
Paul Flynn was a late withdrawal from yesterday’s game due to an injury he incurred against Mayo while the attacking trio of Ciaran Kilkenny , Philip Ryan and Paul Hudson – who formed the full forward line in Dublin’s 2012 All-Ireland U21 winning side – are all on the mend from injuries.
Cormac Costello, the attacking star of Dessie Farrell’s minor side that won the All-Ireland for Dublin last year, is also recuperating from an injury as is fellow forward Eoghan O’Gara.
“Alan Brogan would be the only player of the guys who are returning to play who won’t be ready for that game in five weeks’ time,” outlined Gavin.
“This morning Ciaran Kilkenny was moving very well with Philip Ryan and Paul Hudson, Cormac Costello – they’re all coming back on track. Eoghan O’Gara as well, he’s doing very well and is quite close.
“It was just a knock he (Paul Flynn) picked up against Mayo and I wasn’t comfortable to risk him. Again, no disrespect to the competition, but there’s a longer aim and it wasn’t about today to put him at risk.”
Gavin was heartened by his side’s league triumph but will be keeping his fingers crossed that his players now emerge unscathed from the upcoming schedule of club games.
“Pieces of tin are difficult to win so the guys will enjoy today but from tomorrow the focus has to be on five weeks’ time. The players go back to the clubs, most of them for two weeks, with club football preparations.
“There’s a cohort of about a quarter of the squad play hurling as well so they’re gone for three which gives me two and a half weeks to get ready for championship. It’s going to come around very, very quickly so to play a game of this competitive nature and to be put to the pin of our collar is very fruitful.”
