CUSHENDALL have been handed a tentative double-boost with the news that Arron Graffin and Conor Carson may yet both be available for their All-Ireland campaign.
The Ulster champions face new Galway kingpins St Thomas’ on February 9 and it had been expected that the injury he suffered in the provincial final win over Ballycran would rule centre-back Graffin out.
The 30-year-old defender suffered a dislocated kneecap, but the speed with which the treatment was administered to him on the pitch helped negate the damage.
Francis Quinn, a physio who was a spectator at the game, and Dr Andy Bell, who was a substitute on the Ballycran side and later came on, worked with trained first aiders from Cushendall club to pop the knee back in as quickly as possible.
Having joined in the celebrations from a stretcher, Graffin went to Craigavon Hospital where x-rays showed no break. An MRI the following day also showed no major ligament damage, meaning no surgery was required.
Having been out for three months when he suffered the same injury on the other knee while playing for Antrim against Westmeath three years ago, Graffin is upbeat about his prospects of a recovery.
“It doesn’t look nice because there’s swelling and bruising, but apart from that the knee’s structurally strong,” he said.
“There’s just a lot of rigorous rehab needed to get the knee moving again, a lot of ice on it and getting the swelling down. It was as good as I could have expected for the injury I had, so I’m delighted.”
Conor Carson, who had been a major player at full-forward but missed the Ulster final as he was in Spain embarking on the start of a year’s training to become an airline pilot, is also set to undertake his own training programme in a bid to be involved in February.
