ANTRIM forward Ryan Murray is facing an anxious wait to discover whether he needs surgery on a shoulder injury sustained in the closing minutes of Sunday’s draw with Longford.
A late equaliser from the Leinster outfit saw the Saffrons drop back down to Division Four, and they are worried about receiving further bad news after Murray suffered damage to his AC joint.
The Lamh Dhearg man was felled by Longford’s Diarmuid Masterson as he rose to take a mark just a minute after being brought off the bench to replace Niall Delargy, and was unable to continue.
Murray is due to find out the extent of the injury in the coming days but, with Antrim’s Ulster Championship opener against Donegal just over six weeks away, it is a worry for the management duo of Gearoid Adams and Frank Fitzsimons.
“There’s damage to the AC joint and there’s also ligament and tendon damage to the AC and the shoulder, so we’re waiting on the consultant to clarify everything,” said Adams.
“The last time he played he scored a goal against Louth and in doing so he pulled his quadriceps – this was his first bit of action since then.
“We brought him on to try and seal the game against Longford because it was in the melting pot at that time.
“We haven’t had much luck all year with injuries and Ryan’s one of our main go-to forwards. He’s one of the younger generation of players we’re looking to build around.”
Adams also confirmed that towering full-back Ricky Johnston will not play for Antrim this year.
The Creggan ace didn’t feature during the county’s League campaign and, with Johnston in the final year of a master’s degree at Ulster University, the 26-year-old has been unable to commit.
“Unfortunately Ricky’s dissertation has to be done around the same time as Championship so he opted out this year, which is unfortunate because he’s obviously an excellent player,” said Adams.
It’s not all bad news for Saffron supporters though, as Adams and Fitzsimons are delighted that a number of familiar faces will be back in contention for the trip to Ballybofey.
Johnston’s brother Martin is back after an ankle injury while Cargin’s Kevin O’Boyle and Tomas McCann have returned to training in recent weeks.
Influential half-back Mark Sweeney also took part in his first full training session before the Longford game and will be a consideration for the Donegal game.
Some confusion still surrounds the availability of midfielder Niall McKeever.
The Portglenone man didn’t feature during the League and it remains to be seen whether he comes back into the fold in time for Championship after undergoing ankle surgery earlier in the year.
However, Adams insists that - despite the disappointment of relegation from Division Three - he is happy with how the Saffrons have progressed since the start of the year.
“We’ve got a good squad to work with but we will be mindful to look at boys with long-term injuries and things like that to see where they are,” added Adams.
“There’s six or seven weeks until the Championship so there’s places up for grabs.”
