GREGORY McCartan, Down’s former Allstar, goes under the knife tomorrow in a bid to get his county career back on track.
He will undergo an operation to repair a damaged cruciate knee ligament, an injury which would have ended his career 10 years ago.
Speaking from his home the 28-year-old former Down captain said: “I am dreading the operation and will be glad when it is finally out of the way. The consultant said the knee will be very sore afterwards and I will be on crutches for at least a couple of weeks.”
The midfielder, who suffered the injury while playing in a club match for Ballymartin, said he hoped that he would be back kicking a ball again within seven months. “There has been no real mention of an exact date for a return to football but my physio has hinted at a return within six or seven months, so I hope to be back kicking a ball by September or October.”
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BELFAST teenager Ciaran Herron has pulled off a remarkable double that may never be achieved again.
Inside four days the Lamh Dhearg GAC member and St Mary’s CBS student has collected a Bank of Ireland Colleges’ Allstar award in hurling at centre-back and an Ulster Minor Handball Championship title.
The first he picked up last Wednesday and the second he won at the weekend. It is always dangerous to assume, when complete records are not available, but it seems certain that Ciaran is the first player to complete this prestigious double.
In the Ulster semi-finals at Carrickmore the new champion beat Ciaran Carlin (Cappagh) in a tiebreak after losing the first game 21- 14.
He then won the next two 21-15, 21-12. The final against Shane O’Neill from Brackey took just two games with Herron emerging the winner at 21-6, 21-10. “It’s a nice double,” agreed the PE, Irish and Biology A-Level student, who also plays football with St Mary’s and Lamh Dhearg.
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AMANDA Crowe has become the latest Northern Ireland athlete to be selected for the World Cross Country championships in Belfast next month. Crowe was yesterday named in the British team for the short course event on March 27/28.
The schoolteacher has been included even though she missed Saturday’s national trials in Nottingham. Crowe was ruled out of the trials through illness, but has clearly been picked on her record over the past 18 months.
Meanwhile, as expected, Dermot Donnelly has been included in the Irish team for the long course event in Belfast. Donnelly struggled in Sunday’s national trials in Donegal, but he also has been picked on his previous good form.
Crowe’s selection means that four Northern Ireland athletes will compete in the senior events in Belfast. The others joining the duo are Irish national champion John Ferrin and Teresa Duffy.
In addition Carndonagh athlete Helena Crossan, who runs for Finn Valley, has been named in the Irish women’s team for the championships.
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CATHAL O’Grady and Michael Carruth are in action on Saturday on the undercard of Colin Dunne’s tough WBU world lightweight title defence against South Africa’s experienced former IBF champion, Philip Holiday, at Bethnal Green.
O’Grady is moving up in the cruiser league of opposition, with a testing eight-rounder scheduled against former Commonwealth title challenger Tony Booth. Carruth faces Doncaster might-middleweight Kasi Kaihau.
