PAUL SHIELS is to undergo another hip operation and will be ruled out of the Antrim senior hurlers’ National League campaign next season.
Shiels’ absence will come as a body blow to new manager PJ O’Mullan, who could be without Shane McNaughton and possibly Neil McManus in 2016. Shiels confirmed he is to go under the knife in January to repair a hip problem that plagued his season with Dunloy.
The hugely gifted 27-year-old said: “I’m going for the operation in January. There is no other way around it. It’s been bothering me for the last four or five months. I ended up I couldn’t do any training between games. I was just playing matches and then I’d be sore for a full week.”
Shiels first had hip surgery - on his other hip - in 2009 and needed six months rehab before making a return: “It’s the same injury, only the other hip,” he said.
“I felt it at the tail-end of the county season and I was troubled by it through the club season. You could be looking between anything from four to six months, so I’d be hoping to get back for the tail of the season. I’ll definitely miss the National League.
“I knew myself that it was the same injury as before after I’d been to the physio a few times. I just put it off to the inevitable. I’ve managed to get through the season. That’s all I can say - that I managed to get through it. But it was a nightmare. I got so fed up - one way or the other, it’s going to get sorted now.”
Shiels is not the first Antrim hurler to be struck down with a debilitating hip injury. County team-mates Shane McNaughton and Ballycastle’s Cormac Donnelly have suffered identical injuries in recent seasons, both of whom also underwent surgery.
McNaughton has only recently returned after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, but aggravated his hip during last month’s Ulster Club SHC final against Slaughtneil. While he expects to figure for his club Cushendall in the All-Ireland semi-final against Galway champions Sarsfield’s in February, McNaughton has cast doubt over his physical capacity to play at inter-county level again.
His club-mate Neil McManus could be another high-profile absentee for Antrim, who were relegated to Division 2A and the Christy Ring Cup last season - as he is considering taking a year out to travel in 2016.
Due to injury and work commitments, Donnelly has yet to return to county action after his hip injury. Shiels is astonished by the amount of serious injuries the much-heralded minor class of ’06 have suffered in their hurling careers.
“Out that minor class of ’06 there’s me, Chrissy O’Connell, Neil McManus, Arron Graffin, Shane McNaughton, ‘Hippy’ [Cormac Donnelly], who have all had serious injuries throughout their careers,” he added.
Antrim hurling may be at its lowest ebb as 2016 approaches - but Shiels believes there is more than enough talent in the county for the new management team to work with in order to get back into the top flight.
“There’s a chance now to try new players and maybe freshen things up a wee bit. There are U21s coming through and there are still a lot of good players in the county," he said.
“You just need to look at how competitive the club championship was this year. There are definitely a lot of young players that could put their hand up for Antrim and do a job. Some of them will be thrown in at the deep end now, but sure weren’t we all?"
