CAOLAN Mooney is “in a race against time” to be fit for Down’s Ulster Championship quarter-final with Armagh, but Mourne county manager Eamonn Burns does expect the flying wing-back to feature in the Pairc Esler showdown.
Former Collingwood AFL star Mooney was carried off the pitch with a knee injury he suffered while playing for his club St Bronagh’s, Rostrevor, last Friday evening. There were early concerns that he could miss the June 4 clash, but Burns says the injury isn’t as serious as first feared.
“He was scanned on Monday and the scan has come back positive – there’s no major damage done, but he will be out for a couple of weeks,” said Burns.
“He’s in a race to be ready for the Armagh game, it’s not as bad as we first feared but he’ll definitely be in a race against time.”
Mooney played a pivotal role in the Mournemen’s Division Two campaign. He contributed nine points in the final four games against Derry, Kildare, Galway and Cork with speedy raids out of defence.
“He had a very good League and worked hard on his fitness,” said Burns.
“He was looking forward to the preparation for the Championship so it’s sort of on hold for him at the minute. We’ll do our best to get him ready and he’s very positive about the whole thing.”
Burns expects Bredagh forward Alan Davidson and Kilcoo’s Johnston brothers to be fit well before what he predicts will be a typically “hammer and tongs” showdown with Down’s neighbours from the Orchard county.
Davidson had treatment on a knee injury he picked up in a club game last weekend while Jerome Johnston – Down’s hero with the nerveless late free in Cork that saved them from relegation – injured his quad in training and brother Ryan damaged his hamstring.
“They picked up wee knocks but they were out doing a wee bit of light running at the training session this week so they aren’t a major issue,” said Burns.
“Alan Davidson trained on Tuesday night too, so there’s no issue with him.”
Meanwhile, Down’s range of forward options has been increased by Donal O’Hare’s return to the panel. The Burren frontman hasn’t featured this year after being sidelined with an ankle injury.
“Donal had a more prolonged lay-off than we anticipated,” said Burns.
“He was operated on pre-Christmas on a niggly ankle injury that wasn’t going away – there was a bit of loose bone that was floating and he got that removed. His recovery was a bit prolonged, but he’s fine now and he played a number of games with Burren so we’ll be looking to push him on.
“I’m sure he’ll be competing very heavily for a place against Armagh. They all have a bit of work to do but it would be nice to have them all available for the game and I know the players will be very keen to be ready for it.
“Obviously competition for places will be stiff and we have to take it a step at a time and see where we go.”
Down’s survival in Division Two, coupled with Armagh’s failure to force promotion from Division Three, means the Ulster neighbours are now locked together in the betting for the June 4 fixture. One prominent online bookmaker has both counties evens.
“We knew at the start of the League that it was going to be competitive and it turned out that way,” said Burns.
“We had to battle right to the last game to ensure our status in Division Two which we did and the performance against Cork was very, very good. Having looked at it again, there were a lot of plusses – we got a result and everybody was delighted that we stayed in Division Two.”
