Kerry selector Mikey Sheehy says the door is always open for Tommy Walsh to return to the county football panel.

Walsh made the decision to walk away after Kerry’s defeat to Dublin in the Allianz League Final because of a lack of game-time so far this year. But Sheehy believes he could come back into the reckoning if he impresses for his club Kerins O’Rahilly’s in the coming weeks.

“It was a big decision by Tommy but I think it was the right decision for himself,” said Sheehy. “He was obviously disappointed he wasn't getting game-time. The one thing I would say about him he was working ferociously hard in training. Very dedicated. It just wasn't happening for him. It might be the right thing or the wrong thing by us that we didn't give him enough game time. Maybe the fact he's gone back to his club now, to Rahilly’s, he'll get plenty of football. The door is always open from our point of view. It's up to him.

“In hindsight, when he came back initially, he might have been better off going back to his club. And then coming back to us. I hope it turns round for him It's not physical, it's just sharpness. It's a different type of game to Aussie Rules. They're more stop start. Physically he's in super condition.”

There were big expectations of Walsh when he returned to Kerry for the 2015 season after a five-year stint playing AFL with St. Kilda and Sydney Swans. But he has struggled to make his mark and Sheehy admits it probably didn’t help that he was tried in a number of positions rather than given the chance to settle in one.

“Maybe we should have nailed him down to one position,” said Sheehy. “Last year he played a couple of games wing forward. Didn't suit him. We tried him this year then inside full forward in a few of the games. But he was probably unlucky in the fact that in the first two league games we were missing some marquee players.

“Maybe if they had been playing with him it might have helped him. To be fair, Tommy would still have been part of the squad except he decided to do this. And we understand his frustration. If he was playing well with his club this year and if he was interested I'd say he'd be hauled back in again. I hope it works out for him.”