It will be 10 weeks since either team played a competitive game, yet Meath could possibly have done with a little more time before facing Wicklow in Sunday’s Leinster football quarter-final at Navan.
Manager Mick O’Dowd has confirmed the absence of five first-choice players, through injury, including last year’s captain Kevin Reilly, who continues to struggle with a hip injury. Also ruled out of Sunday’s game are midfielder Conor Gillespie (knee) and forwards Bryan Menton (hand), Mickey Newman (hand) and Shane O’Rourke (hand).
What Meath have in their favour is an impressive winning streak over Wicklow, while Wicklow are seeking their first championship win over Meath since 1957, when they won the Leinster quarter-final by 3-6 to 1-11 in Athy.
Wicklow manager and former Dublin defender Johnny Magee has been rebuilding the confidence of his team after a worst ever Allianz Football League campaign, which saw them finish joint bottom in division four, with London, a campaign which culminated in a two-point defeat to London. Last year’s captain Leighton Glynn has retired, and Magee has spoken about the need for patience.
Regulars
Elsewhere, Cork will be without a trio of regular starters for their Munster football semi-final against Clare, at Páirc Uí Rinn. John O’Rourke, Tom Clancy (from Clonakilty) and Ian Maguire are all on the comeback from injury and won’t feature. However, 2010 All-Ireland winner Alan O’Connor, who came out of retirement to rejoin the panel, is likely to feature.
The big loss for Clare is former All-Ireland winning hurler Podge Collins, who having committed to football this summer, suffered a cruciate knee injury playing hurling for his club, Cratloe.
For Collins, son of Clare football manager Colm Collins, the injury came during Cratloe’s defeat at Ballyea in the county championship, which means they must navigate the difficult backdoor route.
Meanwhile the Donegal County Board have confirmed their intention to appeal the eight-week bans handed out to two players and two members of the Donegal minor football backroom team, following an alleged incident in the Ulster minor quarter-final win over Armagh on May 31st.
Disciplinary matter
Donegal, last year’s beaten All-Ireland finalists, will face Derry in an Ulster semi-final on June 27th. According to a statement from the county board, the Ulster Council have informed them “with regard to a disciplinary matter at half-time of the minor football championship quarter-final game against Armagh.
“There will be no further comment at this time and Donegal County Board would respectfully request that consideration be given to the fact that names of underage players should not be speculated upon while consideration is being given to an appeal process.”
