IT’S TWO YEARS today since Colm O’Neill snapped his cruciate ligament for the second time.
Pearse Stadium in Salthill was the scene for his misfortune.
The right knee, which had first given way in a club game for Ballyclough in April 2008, was the source of his pain after he fell awkwardly when trying to claim possession.
Initial scan results after that game were unclear and a subsequent second scan revealed the grim truth.
But he bounced back, and while Cork did not stand on the September stage last year, the 2012 season concluded with an Allstar award bestowed upon O’Neill.
The honour was a recognition of his perseverance and his realisation of inter-county potential that was evident ever since he ransacked a Kerry defence for 2-3 in the 2005 Munster minor football final.
Suffering a recurrence of a cruciate injury is a nightmare scenario for a player but it is natural after recovering from that repeat setback to believe the worst is over.
Yet for O’Neill, that familiar feeling has hit home again. Last Saturday – once again in a mid-March league game for Cork, once again at a midway point in the first-half and once again after falling awkwardly when gathering possession – he tore a cruciate ligament for the third time in his career.
It was his left knee on this occasion but that does not deflect from the cruelty of the occurrence and the challenge in recuperating.
The timing was terrible. After last year’s Allstar winning form, O’Neill had maintained his high standards this spring and as if to emphasise that, he effortlessly swept over a point off either foot from play before being stretchered off against Donegal. But now instead of looking forward to a summer of building on that promise, he will be sidelined.
The curse of the cruciate has been a high-profile phenomenon in the GAA in recent years yet it’s not a new one as Dr Eanna Falvey, IRFU team medic who works at the Sports Surgery Clinic in Santry, explained to TheScore.ie earlier this year.
“Recently there have been high-profile (GAA) players tearing cruciates but it’s just a common injury. We’re just more aware of it now and there’s a lot more reporting of stuff now.”
The fact that there is no guaranteed method to prevent a recurrence of the injury creates a frustration and helplessness for players. There are several examples of inter-county players who have been struck down a second time with a torn cruciate but it’s difficult to think of someone who has suffered as much as O’Neill.
Cork manager Conor Counihan talks to Colm O’Neill of as he is stretchered off last Saturday.
Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
His absence is damaging for Cork’s 2013 aspirations. Two years ago O’Neill was the first casualty in a campaign when Cork’s attacking resources were stripped bare. Conor Counihan must hope that a recurrence of that spate of setbacks is not in the offing.
He has seen Patrick Kelly, Ciaran Sheehan, Donncha O’Connor and Daniel Goulding all on the treatment table during this spring yet the prognosis there has been short-term absenteeism rather than long-term. It is a strain the squad could do without.
Without O’Neill’s mixture of booming long-range kicks – a weapon more valuable than ever in an era where defensive systems like Donegal’s reign supreme – and his capacity to frequently snatch a goal, Cork will to other prospects to emerge.
Panellists Barry O’Driscoll and Liam Shorten are both natural left-footed corner-forwards, Brian Hurley has shown good promise at U21 level while Mark Collins ability as a half-forward could lead Cork to shake up their attacking formation.
For those Cork players the 2013 season opens up invitingly but for their colleague O’Neill it is a massive setback to absorb. His age, 24, is a double-edged sword in that he has sustained severe blows in the early stages of his career yet has time on his side to recover and come back.
And it’s not as if he has not shown a capacity to reinvent himself before. After tearing his cruciate in 2008, he came back in 2009 to win a Sigerson Cup medal with CIT, captain Cork to the All-Ireland U21 title and score the only goal in that year’s All-Ireland senior decider.
When felled again in 2011, he responded in 2012 with goals in Croke Park in both the league semi-final and final, 0-9 during Cork’s run to the Munster title and 1-3 in both of their outings in the All-Ireland series in August.
His tweet yesterday demonstrates a positive attitude and desire to scale those heights once more.
