TYRONE captain Mattie Donnelly says he’s relieved and reassured to have come through his first game in eight months, bringing an injury nightmare to an end.
With a full 60 minutes of competitive football under his belt, he feels recovery is complete and he’s on his way back to peak performance. Donnelly hadn’t played since suffering a serious hamstring injury in an Ulster Club Championship game last November.
But he was back in club colours for Trillick’s Division One league opener against Clonoe at the weekend.
“I’m glad to get a game under my belt, I keep getting a bit more confidence in it. It was just good to get out and get a feel for 60, 70 minutes again,” he said.
“I was happy enough with the work I had done before, but obviously nothing can replicate games.”
A heavy defeat at Clonoe meant a shaky start to the season for the county champions, but the pace and physicality of the contest at O’Rahilly Park provided Donnelly with the perfect test of his body’s readiness.
“Going to Clonoe in the first round of the league is as tough as you’ll get, a baptism of fire, so to speak.
“Clonoe were very passionate, and they take great pride in their home form. They’re a good outfit, and they will have a big role to play in the championship as well.
“Just before lockdown, I was probably closing in on returning, but it did give me a bit of breathing space and made sure I could cement the work I had done prior to that.
“I was no different to any other man, then throughout lockdown, I was just waiting for football to get back and get that game under the belt.
“I had to wait a bit longer than I would have hoped, but it’s just good to be back out playing football, playing with the club, and hopefully we’ll get to enjoy the remainder of the club season as well.”
With two remaining NFL games to be played against Donegal and Mayo, he expects to be back to peak condition by the time Tyrone face Donegal in a crunch Ulster Championship tie in late October.
“It’s good to have the luxury of having those two league games to get the cobwebs off, because essentially you’re starting a new season with that team, and you don’t know who is going to present, in terms of coming through a club season, with injuries and form and things like that.
“So that’s a long way down the line, but I suppose it is good that they have set those two league games aside to give county teams a chance to get back into it.
“It’s a bit down the line yet for the county scene, and hopefully we get to that stage as well.”
The Red Hand skipper accepts that a straight knock-out Championship was the only option open to the GAA in an environment dominated by fears of Covid-19.
And he’s keeping his fingers crossed that a further suspension of play won’t be triggered by a pandemic that continues to pose a serious threat to society.
“It’s exciting, and there was a stage there that you would have taken any football in a heartbeat.
“And that’s still the outlook. If we get that far, knock-out football will be brilliant. I think knock-out was the only thing you could have done this year.
“But with the environment we’re in now, we’re just taking it week by week and looking forward to the next game.”
Donnelly expects Donegal to strenuously resist any moves by the GAA to switch the sudden death championship clash with Tyrone away from Ballybofey.
Speculation continues that the blockbuster clash could be moved to Croke Park due to crowd restrictions at MacCumhaill Park.
“It would be a blow, and rightfully so they’ll fight for home advantage, and they have every right to do that.
“But that’s something we’ll not worry too much about in that it’s not in our control.
“Whatever the powers that be decide, both teams will be looking forward to the game, and it’s going to be a big game regardless of where it’s at, and its going to be a massive challenge regardless of where it’s at.
“So we’ll just let the powers that be make that decision and roll with the punches.”
