TOM O’SULLIVAN has lost his race to be fit to play a part for Kerry in the All-Ireland SFC final.
But Jack O’Connor’s midfield options for Sunday’s clash with Donegal look set to be strengthened by the return of Diarmuid O’Connor.
Jack O’Connor has been dealt a late injury blow ahead of the All-Ireland finalTom Beary/Sportsfile
Tom O’Sullivan has been ruled out of the gameShauna Clinton/Sportsfile
For their bid to reclaim Sam Maguire for the first time since 2022, the Kingdom gaffer has announced the same team that started the semi-final victory over Tyrone. But while Seán O’Brien and Mark O’Shea retain their midfield places, O’Connor’s name is on a list of 13 subs which must be trimmed to 11 for Sunday.
The Na Gaeil man has had an injury-plagued season since damaging his shoulder in the National League win over Armagh in March.
He was back for the defeat of Roscommon in the opening round of the All-Ireland group stage, only to miss the meetings with Cork and Meath due to a groin problem.
Having returned from that setback to start in the preliminary quarter- final against Cavan, O’Connor was withdrawn again after suffering a recurrence of the shoulder issue.
However, he could now feature in his fourth All-Ireland final after being named on a strong list of reserves that also includes Paul Geaney, Tadhg Morley, Micheál Burns, Killian Spillane and Tony Brosnan.
Along with Paul Murphy, Geaney is one of two surviving members of the 2014 final win against Donegal.
However, he has not played since the group-stage defeat of Cork due to a shoulder injury.
The unavailability of O’Sullivan is a blow for Kerry. The three-time All-Star defender has been sidelined since injuring his calf in the quarter-final against Armagh.
But it has been a dream year for midfield man O’Shea, who is set to start an All-Ireland final just four months after he made his senior inter-county debut.
Kerry captain Gavin White, his Dr Crokes clubmate, said: “It’s a credit to him. In fairness, if you told the man this time last year that he’d be potentially lining out for an All-Ireland final in midfield starting, I’m not sure he would have believed you.
“Mark is a year younger than me and I would have played with him all up along with Crokes and would have seen his potential all the way up.
“But in fairness to the man, he’s really stepped up the gears this year.”
The Donegal team will be unveiled today.
KERRY (SFC v Donegal): S Ryan; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; B Ó Beaglaioch, M Breen, G White; S O’Brien, M O’Shea; J O’Connor, S O’Shea, G O’Sullivan; D Clifford, P Clifford, D Geaney. Subs (11 to be selected from 13): S Murphy, K Spillane, E Looney, TL O’Sullivan, T Morley, P Geaney, M Burns, T Brosnan, A Heinrich, T Kennedy, D O’Connor, C Geaney, D Moynihan.
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