Slaughtneil admit time is running out for Bradley

Despite attending an oxygen chamber and travelling to England for treatment to speed up the healing process, All-Ireland club finalists Slaughtneil admit they "aren't hopeful" stricken forward Christopher Bradley will be fit for their St Patrick's Day decider against Corofin.

Bradley suffered a broken collarbone in a challenge by Kieran Donaghy during Austin Stacks' one-point defeat to the Derry champions in the All-Ireland semi-final in Portlaoise eleven days ago.

Slaughtneil assistant manager John Joe Kearney, who was initially critical of Donaghy's tackle, last night revealed the new Kerry captain sent a message of goodwill to Bradley in the aftermath of the game.

“To be fair to Kieran Donaghy he went to the bother of getting a number for Sammy (Bradley) and sent a text and said ‘Look, no hard feelings, sorry you ended up the way you did but the hit was there and I took it’.

“It was very commendable that he did that and we appreciated it.

“In fact, I would nearly need to text him back and say ‘Sorry, I accused you in the wrong!’

“I spoke out of context after the game because although it looked like a really heavy tackle from where I was standing on the far side of the pitch, when I watched it back, it was shoulder to shoulder.

“It was just a case of little versus large, but it was quite within the rules of the game.

“So I send him my apologies. It was a big hit but it was a fair hit.”

Bradley is attending an oxygen chamber in Larne and also travelled to Ipswich in England in the hope of regaining some measure of fitness ahead of the All-Ireland club final.

“We’re getting him all the best treatment we can but we aren’t hopeful,” admitted Kearney.

“Anyone who breaks their collarbone in normal circumstances it’s six to eight weeks, so it’s a big ask to have him ready in a month.

“He has scored some very good points for us this year. He got an injury-time winner in the Ulster final and when we were down in the semi-final, he knocked over a couple of very important points before half time which got us back into contention.

“There is still a couple of weeks to go, so we could be writing his name on the teamsheet yet, but at this moment in time we are not counting on him as a starter.

“In fairness we have cover to sort things out if he’s not available.”

Shea McGuigan and Padraig Cassidy are in contention to take Bradley's place at centre half-forward.