Crossan lifting weights and team spirit

The day before Donegal played Meath was probably the low point for Mark Crossan. The Letterkenny full back was due to captain Donegal in his 100th championship game. A tangle with Armagh's Diarmuid Marsden in the Ulster final had hobbled him and a series of medical tests led to the news that he had torn his cruciate ligaments. Like that, his summer was finished, writes Keith Duggan

"They way I looked at it was that I had 10 years of intercounty football without serious injury. Often you see lads of 25 or 26 already carrying knees. So I just told Mickey Moran 'forget about me' until next season. But the timing was terrible. I travelled to Dublin with the team and only when we took a walk around Croke Park did I realise what I was missing."

Crossan wore the number three jersey on the sideline against Meath in honour of contribution and before the team took the field, Crossan said a few words.

"That was tough, to be honest. I found it hard not to break down because it was a very emotional experience for us. But within a few minutes I got caught up in the match like everyone else and I was jumping up and down on the sideline. I suppose people were saying, 'God, look at Crossan, there can't be much wrong with him'."

He hasn't missed a training session since, turning up to help out any way he can and to just feel part of a season that has turned into an adventure for Donegal.

Ten years ago, Crossan was a young panel member when Donegal beat Dublin to win the All-Ireland title.

"I was really just learning at that time and coming into a seasoned and settled side. I think it is a lot different now. This is a young squad coming through together and there is a feeling that everyone is at the same level.

" Mickey and John Morrison have been absolutely brilliant in getting us back and motivated after the Ulster final loss and beating Meath was massively important to us, it was the kind of win this team has threatened to make for a few years. So it was a breakthrough of sorts."

Interest in Donegal football dipped dramatically when the 1992 team broke up and had only begun to rise again in recent years.

Today's tie against Dublin is probably the most important match for Donegal since that September 10 years ago.

"You can definitely feel the excitement that has been missing for a while is returning.

"The thing about Donegal is that it is such a spread-out county. Even John Morrison, who is from Armagh, didn't realise it. He used to have us training until late in the night in the start, meaning that some of the lads wouldn't get home until 12 or one in the morning because it would be a two-hour drive. John thought everyone would be home in about half an hour. But despite that size, you can really feel the county coming together."

Crossan is still training twice a week, swimming and lifting weights to build up the muscle prior to reconstructive surgery to the ligament. He hopes to be back for the league but remains immersed in the current competition.

"To play Dublin in Croke Park is a great thing for any team. The only thing I hope is that they leave the Hill to the Dubs. In the Leinster final, it looked fantastic. The Hill is their baby and should be left to them . And if the rest of the stadium, if full of Donegal fans, then all the better."