Injuries hit both sides for league final

HOUSE-CLEANING ahead of the National Football League finals this Sunday. Kerry and Derry will reprise their 2008 duel in the Division One decider, this time at Croke Park, without a couple of marquee names.

Kerry maestro Colm Cooper is the most serious concern for manager Jack O’Connor, with last year’s captain Paul Galvin nursing a groin injury. A decision will be made on both men closer to throw-in but both are unlikely to feature.

Derry have similar concerns, as manager Damien Cassidy explained: “We have lost three players for this game. Patsy Bradley, Seán Marty Lockhart and Niall McCusker. We have a few other niggles and will have to wait until Friday night.

“We developed our panel with this in mind because when we came to play Monaghan in the qualifiers last year we were left struggling because there wasn’t the panel that you could depend upon.

“They are not available for Sunday’s match but should be available for the Monaghan match (championship on May 24th).”

Paddy Bradley is back in the panel after a period travelling, while Mark Lynch is another player who missed out on the earlier league defeat to Kerry. Derry won last year’s final at Parnell Park but struggled to replicate that form in the Ulster championship.

“There is plenty of evidence to suggest that when Derry do well in the National League they can look forward to quite a short summer but that is my job to try and crack that mentality and ensure we have a group of players who understand championship is the be all and end all.”

Cork face Monaghan in the Division Two decider, also at Croke Park, throw-in 2pm, and have been boosted by the return of Michael Cussen from injury but James Masters’s injury problems continue.

“(Cussen) is training again now,” said manager Conor Counihan. “He’s not doing the full extent of training but he is doing some. That is important. It will be a couple of weeks yet.

“Unfortunately again this year James picked up an injury early on in the year. We gave him time to get it right and thankfully, now it is coming right. Hopefully, we will see more of him now.”

On the potential selection of Aisake Ó hAilpín, Counihan added: “We are monitoring that situation at the minute and we will see how things develop.”

Monaghan report a clean bill of health.