TIERNAN McCann played almost an hour of last Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin with a broken finger.
The Tyrone half-back suffered the injury 15 minutes into the Croke Park clash and will undergo surgery next week meaning he could now miss his club Killyclogher’s defence of their county championship title.
McCann had played a pivotal role in the Red Hands’ run to back-to-back Ulster titles and the dismantling of Armagh at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage. But the injury, to his right hand, contributed to Tyrone’s off-colour display against the Dubs and is a massive blow to Killyclogher’s chances of retaining their hard won O’Neill Cup.
He is expected to be out of football for the next six weeks, according to manager Dominic Corrigan.
“It was news I didn’t want to hear,” admitted Corrigan.
“He has been playing fantastic football and he is our vice-captain so it’s a massive blow for us. He is a real leader on the team and to be without him is a huge blow to us going into the championship.”
Killyclogher begin their championship campaign against Pomeroy on September 9. Last year’s success was only the second in the club’s history and came 13 years after the St Mary’s outfit first collected the title.
In the dog-eat-dog world of Tyrone championship football, there have been seven different winners in the last seven years starting with Coalisland in 2010. The Na Fianna club’s achievement was matched by Dromore, Errigal Ciaran, Clonoe, Omagh and Trillick before Killyclogher won last season.
“The standard in Tyrone is massive and there’s up to eight teams capable of winning the championship,” said Corrigan.
“No county in Ireland would have that because there is such a high standard right across the board. That’s why you have so many different winners – the last team to retain the title was Carrickmore way back in 2004.”
McCann’s absence will be felt, but Killyclogher still have proven inter-county experience in the likes of his brother Conall McCann and Mark Bradley while former Red Hand All-Ireland winner Dermot Carlin is now back in the ranks.
“We didn’t have Dermot last year which was a massive blow to us,” Corrigan explained.
“Other players stepped up and now we’re without Tiernan so the onus is on some of the younger players to make their mark. A setback for Tiernan is another player’s opportunity.
“Dermot is back and started training three weeks’ ago. He’s on the road to recovery which is a plus.”
Pomeroy have stepped up to the senior grade after winning county and provincial titles at intermediate level last season.
There are no second chances in Tyrone’s knock-out format and Corrigan has no doubt that the Plunkett’s outfit will be determined to announce themselves by toppling the defending champions.
“They have plenty of experience now and they have the experience of playing of the Ulster and All-Ireland at intermediate level behind them,” said the former Fermanagh and Sligo manager.
“They are definitely a force to be reckoned with. Look at Trillick, they lost an intermediate final in 2014 and the following year they won the senior championship. The standard at intermediate level in Tyrone is so high that you’re well able to step up and compete at senior.”
