Ronan's return confirmed

Both this morning's Indo and Hogan Stand have now confirmed yesterday's reports that Ronan McGarritty has, indeed, returned to the fray. He played for about twenty minutes in the challenge match against Cork at the weekend and will be back in the panel for the qualifier tie against Cavan on July 7th. While it's got to be doubtful that he'll start the next day, it would be great to see him back in action at some stage over the seventy minutes.

We've missed Ronan's presence hugely in midfield over the past few months, most notably in Salthill where Joe Bergin was afforded complete freedom in the air around the middle. This was exactly where Ronan dominated the exchanges so comprehensively in last year's Connacht final and his absence on May 20th was one of the reasons (though, admittedly, only one of many) why we failed to compete with Galway that day. Assuming we get past the Cavan Bucks on July 7th, Ronan might welll be ready to start in the next round, which, in turn, would free up the likes of David Brady and David Heaney for duties further back.

It's not all good news, however. The same story in the Indo also carries confirmation that Ciaran McDonald has been sidelined with what they describe as a "muscle injury". No more than Keith Higgins, Super Mac would be a big loss if he's not fit to play against Cavan. However, there's still ten days or so to go (so soon! so soon! Where's my bloody replica shirt?) and so it's possible he might yet be okay for our Saturday night joust with the Cavan Bucks.

Well, at least Mac is still breathing, unlike poor old mob boss, John Abruzzi, who bit the dust at the hands of the Feds last night in Prison Break. And then there were seven . . .