IT was one of the more shocking images of a summer to remember for Ulster football.
Young Oisin Savage, the star of the Down U20s’ provincial triumph 12 months earlier, had just been thrust into the action as the Mournemen sought to turn the tide of a Tailteann Cup semi-final that Sligo were just edging as the final quarter loomed.
Little did the Loughinisland man know he would spend more time lying unconscious on the sacred sod than doing what he does best.
Heading towards the final 10 minutes at Croke Park, and with Down trailing by a point, Savage made a right to left run in the direction of the Hogan Stand that was spotted by Ryan McEvoy, standing over a free.
Savage won the ball clean, but the floaty nature of the pass in offered that extra millisecond for Nathan Mullen to think he had a chance. Coming in from behind, Mullen swung a right forearm that connected with Savage’s jaw rather than the ball.
Savage was out cold before he hit the ground, his face planting into the turf below. Mullen was shown a straight red card by referee Derek O’Mahoney.
Players realised the severity of the situation straight away, an eerie quiet immediately descending as paramedics worked on Savage for seven long minutes.
“I knew he was bad whenever I was out on the pitch,” said shaken Down boss Conor Laverty afterwards, “it was scary stuff… even the noises that he was making.
“It was genuinely scary, that’s the truth.”
It wasn’t until he was in the ambulance, en route to Dublin’s Mater Hospital, that Savage finally came round.
“All I can remember is the ball coming in and going up for it – I can’t remember anything after that,” he said.
“The next thing was waking up in the ambulance, I was a bit freaked out, I didn’t really know what was going on to be honest, then I had come around by the time I was in the hospital. It was scary now, I have to say.
“You’re just thinking, like, ‘what’s happened?’ Obviously people are telling you, but you can’t remember any of that.
“If it had happened anywhere else, you probably wouldn’t have got all that [treatment], so I was lucky in a way.”
Amid genuine concern about the extent of the injury suffered, there was some relief when it emerged that Savage had suffered a broken jaw rather than anything more sinister.
Still, it left him facing a long road back. He turned 21 the day before undergoing surgery at the Ulster hospital, a metal plate placed where his lower jaw had been fractured.
“Luckily I didn’t have to get it wired.
“It wasn’t the best birthday now I - just had to sit there, I couldn’t do much - but it could have been worse I suppose. It was still painful but it wasn’t as sore as before I went in… it was a weird feeling trying to get used to it, knowing there was a plate in there.
“At the start you couldn’t really eat fully, you could only really get soft liquids into you, the likes of soup, potatoes, mince, that was for four or five weeks, then around the six week mark they introduced small bits of other foods but not much.
“I’m getting there. It’s happened now and you just have to move on.”
Mullen texted Savage on the Monday after the game, offering best wishes and insisting what unfolded was unintentional. The 21-year-old isn’t one to dwell, and is just looking forward to the next chapter in what has been an impressive career to date.
Down finished off the Yeatsmen after extra-time, and Savage was there with the rest of the panel when the Mournemen saw off Laois in the Tailteann final, enjoying the moment as All-Ireland football was secured for 2025, playing his part in a solid campaign that also delivered promotion from Division Three of the National Football League.
Three months was the loose timeline suggested post-surgery, though each case is judged on its own merits.
This Saturday marks nine weeks since the injury occurred – and it is also the day Loughinisland open their Down championship campaign with a clash against reigning county kingpins Kilcoo in Liatroim.
With Savage yet to resume contact training, and a further appointment with specialists scheduled for later this week, it is unlikely he will play any part against the Magpies.
As eager as he is to get back out and play, he knows there is no point in trying to rush things.
“I’ve just really been doing my own training, keeping up the fitness and stuff, working on ball skills, trying to get that back.
“I’ve to go back later this week and I’ll know more… it’s not really a decision right now, I’m not going to rush back into it either like. It’s just trying to build that confidence up too.
“Kilcoo could be too early, I’ll know more later this week. But I’m sure I’ll get there at some stage.”
