SIX WEEKS ON from suffering a serious attack, Sunday Game presenter Michael Lyster, reclaimed the hot seat last weekend.
After attending the Munster hurling final as a punter, the Galway native decided it was time to make a full return to the show.
“I was down at Thurles thinking, I could have presented the show today,” he tells The42.ie.
“I didn’t want to arrive back things were hotting up for All-Ireland semi-finals so I felt this was the right time to go back.
Lyster is now relishing being back in his role between some of the most lively pundits on TV.
“It’s a balancing act because what you don’t want to do is stifle your panelists,” he says. “You have to give them the freedom to express their views. But you also have to be aware – and to be honest Joe would be one of them – that I have to keep tabs on proceedings and make sure that we don’t go off some place that we don’t want it to go.
“I don’t ever let the job stress me. A lot of people told me I had done enough but I enjoy what I do and I’m looking forward to the weeks ahead and the games that are to come.”
Lyster admits he we was shocked to receive such an abundance of get-well messages during his time away from the studio lights.
“You know how popular the Sunday Game is and you know you have a public profile but it was still a surprise to see the number of get well messages I received. I think really what it’s about is how popular the Sunday Game and the role it plays in people’s lives and I suppose that was the background to the reaction,” he says.
