Jack McCaffrey leaves Dublin panel ahead of 2020 Championship, reports

Dublin football was coming to terms on Saturday night with reports that former Footballer of the Year Jack McCaffrey has decided to step away from inter-county football.

The GAA announced its proposed calendar for this year’s coronavirus-disrupted championship on Friday but it appears that the one of the champions’ most valuable players has decided not to be part of the panel.

Dublin management was not available for comment but it is believed that they are resigned to losing McCaffrey in the long term, as there is speculation that he may be considering a permanent break from the game.

Inter-county training is officially not scheduled to begin until September 14th and Dessie Farrell, in his first year as Dublin manager, will be hoping that there is a change of mind from the player, as the county seeks to build on its historic five-in-a-row success last year.

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Now a qualified doctor, McCaffrey is currently working in St Luke’s Hospital in Kilkenny.

It’s not the first time that he has stepped away from the county panel. After winning the 2015 Footballer of the Year, he travelled to Africa as part of his medical training and played no part in Dublin’s back-to-back success in 2016.

He returned in 2017, only to sustain cruciate ligament damage in the opening minutes of that year’s All-Ireland final against Mayo. McCaffrey returned a year later and was on board for the victories against Tyrone and last year, Kerry, against whom he scored a sensational 1-3 from wing back in the drawn final.