“LIFE IS MORE important and people forget about you pretty quickly when you move on, no matter how many All-Ireland medals you have, unfortunately.
“It probably has been there in the last year or two, in the back of my mind.”
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IT’S CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK for Michael Fennelly as Kilkenny gear up to make their 2015 bow.
One of the most decorated players in the Cats squad, Fennelly has a treasure trove of All-Ireland medals courtesy of club and county, but a streak of injuries has halted his progress in recent years.
And a crippling back problem that is linked to an arthritis condition has been a sobering occurrence for the 30 year-old.
“I had a back problem and I thought that was it and it has been back at me again this year, which has been a bit of a scare, to be honest.
“Your back is everything and if it is not right, if you can’t do daily functions and if you had kids in the future and you can’t play with them, that’s a different scenario.
“Unfortunately, when I am training well and everything is going well, it feels great.
“But then with an injury like that – especially with your back – it puts everything into perspective. (I’ve) had a few bad injuries and it has been a nightmare to be honest.”
Since being the best hurler in the land in 2011, Fennelly has hit roadblocks in his attempts to scale those heights again.
“(It’s the) lower back, when that triggers off, and daily functions, like bending down to pick up stuff, I am in trouble with that.
Even walking, (I) can’t jog, bending down seems to catch me out.
Cause
Finding out the definitive cause of the injury is troublesome.
“That type of condition is common in your 20′s and people in their 40′s, that’s the way that condition works,” outlines Fennelly.
“I have an arthritic condition and maybe that is something to do with it. The arthritis condition has changed again, the condition I have.
“It can change to your lower back and upper back and into your neck and that and that has something to do with it.
“If my back goes off, that’s me finished with training for a while, because I can’t do anything until I am pain-free again
It’s just that medical area of your back is just so up in the air, it’s a guessing game.
Hopeful
Despite the severity of the problem, Fennelly is hopeful of playing in this weekend’s Leinster semi-final against Wexford.
“It has settled down now for the moment and hoping it stays that way. I hope to be involved.
“I have trained for the last week or so. Maybe I am being a bit optimistic but you have to be optimistic. I am hoping to get back in there.”
