FORMER Down boss James McCartan says it's a case of 'wait and see' whether or not Martin Clarke will be able to return to the county colours.
The An Ríocht clubman has repeatedly indicated his desire to wear the red-and-black again after returning to Ireland in late 2014 from a second spell in Australian Rules Football. Clarke last played for Down in the fourth round of the 2011 All-Ireland Qualifiers, a heavy defeat to Cork in Croke Park.
His second stint with Collingwood was adversely affected by Addison's disease, which stops the adrenal glands from producing hormones and leads to chronic fatigue. McCartan is now in charge of Clarke at Queen's University, Belfast and admitted the talented playmaker's future remains unclear because of his health issues.
Asked about Clarke's chances of featuring for Down, McCartan replied: "It's a wait and see situation. Éamonn Burns will be watching closely to see how Marty gets on in the McKenna Cup and the Sigerson and see what way he is after that.
The next six weeks will tell the tale… I'm not sure - because of Marty's illness, the demands we put on him are little. Marty dictates what he can and cannot do physically."
Playing at centre half-forward, Tyrone paid Clarke the compliment of delegating the experienced Aidan McCrory to man-marking duties. Clarke still got some good kick-passes away to his corner-forwards as Queen's began brightly and converted two frees, but also missed two such opportunities.
McCartan was content with what he saw, aware there could be much more to come from Clarke: "I thought he showed, in a lot of phases of the game, what he's capable of doing.
"There are areas of the game - his passing, his free-taking - which weren't up to the standard that he would like them to be at, but we are delighted to have him. He's a quality player, we just have to be careful how we handle him and try to ensure that he's not overloaded".
