FIRST the good news: Colm Cooper had discarded his crutches and is making slow but steady progress in his rehabilitation from the devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury he sustained in the All-Ireland Club semi-final.
Gooch, who underwent major surgery in the Santry Sports Clinic to repair the damage, is again putting weight on his right leg and is right on schedule in the recovery programme prepared by his expert medical team.
The star Dr Crokes and Kerry forward looked well on the mend when he appeared at a photo-shoot to promote Killarney Races earlier this week.
Despite the progress made, he won’t be in a position to return to competitive action until the very late stages of next year’s National League campaign – at the very earliest.
Further positive news for Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice is that livewire attacker Darran O’Sullivan is edging back to fitness following hip surgery and the added complication of a hamstring problem.
He is swimming regularly in the Hotel Europe in Killarney and he had a minor procedure on his hip carried out in the Bon Secours Hospital in Cork this week.
The flying Glenbeigh/Glencar clubman has his sights set firmly on a return to competitive action in time for the Munster championship campaign.
The bad news this week is that Kieran Donaghy is likely to miss several weeks of action after dislocating his shoulder in a club game with Austin Stacks.
He met consultants in Santry this Wednesday and a decision is being made whether he needs to have immediate surgery on the injured joint.
It is expected that he will miss at least six weeks but the injury could rule him out for the entire provincial campaign.
