Maughan gets good news on injuries

Team news: There was good news for Mayo footballers yesterday as it emerged that Ronan McGarrity and Conor Mortimer are expected to recover from injury in time for Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final replay against Fermanagh.

Manager John Maughan believes both will be available. "I've just come from Dublin," he said yesterday, "where Ronan's been discharged from hospital and he'll be okay. Conor has an ankle problem but we're working on it and I expect him to play. McGarrity would have been a huge loss. He was paddling the boat on his own for a long time and took that bang on his chest in the first half."

The replay has, however, given Maughan a clash of appointments. His daughter, Rose, will defend her national 600 metres Community Games title in Mosney on Saturday. Both she and her sister, Tressan, were also on the teams that won the rounders titles at under-13 and under-15.

Fermanagh have no injury concerns and are expected, like Mayo, to name their team on Thursday.

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor will wait until later in the week before making a decision on Colm Cooper's hamstring injury, which he picked up in the All-Ireland quarter-final win over Dublin.

"He has done very little since picking up the injury apart from a bit of treatment," said O'Connor. "At the weekend he did some light jogging, but we're just hoping for the best and keeping our fingers crossed. We can't tell until the end of the week when he gets a chance to go flat out."

It has emerged the GAC may not meet again in advance of Sunday's All-Ireland minor football semi-final.

A GAA spokesperson said yesterday he wasn't aware of any plans for a meeting in advance of the Laois-Kerry match. Saturday's meeting was postponed and as a result Laois's Donie Brennan and Cork's Kevin Canty - who had been called to appear - were able to play in the counties' replay on Sunday.

Now after Laois's win it looks as if Brennan will be able to play against Kerry should the GAC not hear his case.

The Mayo-Fermanagh replay has been confirmed for 4 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets for the match have been reduced from €40 to €35 and approximately 13,000 concessionary tickets will be issued. They include family tickets for three children and one adult for €35 plus €5 per child and student tickets for €15.

It will be a busy day with the All-Ireland under-21 hurling semi-finals also taking place in Portlaoise.

Both Tipperary-Down and Kilkenny-Galway will be televised live on TG4.

Gaelic Gear, the Newry-based gear and equipment manufacturers who have been given a licence by the GAA to produce match footballs, has announced they will present 100 of the balls to each county board.

This was announced by GAA president Seán Kelly last Sunday when he attended a reception for county chairmen in Croke Park immediately before the All-Ireland semi-final between Fermanagh and Mayo.