INJURY-PLAGUED Conor Meyler has acknowledged an element of ‘obsession’ about his bid to get back for Tyrone in this year’s Championship, asking himself at one stage, ‘Am I crazy?’
But the former Allstar has pledged to keep going, until his mid-30s if possible, and says that he’s taken inspiration from seeing Paul Conroy still competing at the very top with Galway at the age of 35.
Conroy, who broke his leg in 2018, like Meyler, played for Galway in last weekend’s All-Ireland final and is second favourite to be named Footballer of the Year.
Meyler, who turns 30 in September, has already got his All-Ireland medal, from 2021, but didn’t play at all this year due to a mixture of knee and Achilles injuries and is set for another knee operation in the coming weeks.
He was told by specialists to write off his year last February but redoubled his efforts with a punishing rehab regime and got to the brink of featuring in the Championship when he injured his Achilles.
Speaking at the announcement that BPerfect Cosmetics is the official Diversity and Inclusivity Partner of the Gaelic Players Association, Meyler said it’s ‘probably not likely’ that he will play for his club in the coming months but he remains optimistic about being fit for pre-season duty with Tyrone.
“The reason I got to where I was, was just hard work and that’s something I’ve always tried to hold onto,” said Meyler, explaining that he was at the gym around 500 times in the last 365 days.
“But it took me to a point where it probably broke me as well. There’s an element of being able to let go and accept that you can’t physically train any more.
“Like, I was going through injuries with hamstrings and the knee and all the rest where that obsession probably cost you. But it’s just who I am. I had a moment then when I looked at myself and said, ‘Am I crazy in what I’m doing here, trying to get back?’ Could I have just wrote off a year and said it wasn’t to be, or pointed the finger at somebody else.
“No, because I was never on this path towards playing for Tyrone and so I said I wanted to exhaust every ounce, and I will, and I will get a knee replacement some day, who knows when that will be or what the future holds, but I’d rather say I went all in and threw everything at it.
“And, for now, I think I have a lot more to give. Some day the body will just say, ‘It’s not going to happen’ but I’ve put everything on hold to try to get the most out of this.
“People think I’m mad because you’re not professional, you’re not getting paid and the money you’re spending, it’s in the thousands. It completely outweighs anything you get back but you do it because you’re still that wee boy who had a dream of wanting to play for Tyrone.
“Because you had this vision that no-one else did, no-one else probably believed that you ever would (play for Tyrone). Well, I believed. And that’s all I needed.”