GALWAY FOOTBALLERS HAVE received an early boost for the new season with vice-captain Gareth Bradshaw returning to the fold after a stint in America.
Bradshaw quit the Galway squad after a disastrous Connacht SFC clash with Mayo where he ended up being sent off and the Tribesmen were hammered by 17 points by their arch rivals.
The Moycullen clubman actually skippered Galway that day in the absence of Finian Hanley but it all went so wrong and in the fallout Bradshaw, who had been playing non-stop for Galway since going directly from minor to senior in 2007, decided to take a break.
He left for the United States and linked up with the Leitrim club in New York and did not feature as Galway rescued their season with a decent run in the qualifiers which saw them defeat Tipperary, Waterford and Armagh before being pipped by 1-17 to 1-16 after a good showing against Cork in Croke Park.
Bradshaw has since returned to Ireland and will be on board for Alan Mulholland’s men for 2014.
“He is back and is training hard and we are all looking forward to the new season,” said manager Mulholland.
His side will begin their campaign with an FBD League clash against Sligo in Tuam next Sunday.
“We will again be using the FBD League to try out players as we want to hit the ground running in February as we have a tough league campaign but we are all looking forward to it,” added Mulholland.
