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Michael Fennelly: 'I'm staying positive'

Michael Fennelly

Michael Fennelly

By John Harrington

Kilkenny star Michael Fennelly is hopeful he can make a full recovery from the ruptured Achilles tendon that ruled him out of this year’s All-Ireland Hurling Final against Tipperary.

In the immediate aftermath of the injury he admitted it could end his inter-county career, but now he’s more positive about the prospect of pulling on a black and amber jersey again next year.

“Any time you get a serious injury like that, you have to re-look at things, re-analyse,” says Fennelly. “Where I am at the moment, this has to come back right either way, whether I come back hurling or not.

“So I’m staying positive. Hopefully get back in the jersey. There is no point doubting myself. You have to be positive and optimistic about these things.”

The surgery to re-attach the Achilles tendon went well, but Fennelly admits he won’t know exactly how successful the healing process has been until the moon-boot he’s currently wearing is removed and he can step up his rehabilitation.

“They’re happy enough at the moment in terms of the healing,” he says. “In terms of the quality of the tendon, I won’t know until I start running, jumping. What the power is there.

“Sometimes you can over-stretch a tendon. It becomes weak and too elastic. The tension is needed. Hopefully it will come right over the next few months. But there are no guarantees.”

Michael Fennelly

Michael Fennelly

Fennelly has had cope with a chronic back injury for a number of years now and has also sustained serious ankle injuries in the past.

He believes the experience of successfully rehabbing such injuries in the past will stand to him now as he bids to come back from his worst set-back yet.

“Yeah, I think so, in some way,” he says. “And I think I'm able to work on my own and just do my own bit of work which is good too. I've done it before so it's nothing strange to me to do this. I'm intrinsically motivated to do it. If someone wasn't motivated, they're not going to do it, simple as that, so the motivation is there. So that will help, I think.

“The background with lecturing in Sports Science helps obviously as well and trying to figure out better ways for healing and to get it right. I think that will add value.”

Fennelly’s absence on All-Ireland Final day underlined just how important he is to the Kilkenny cause as Tipperary won the match relatively comfortably by nine points. The Ballyhale Shamrocks man found the experience of watching the match from a distance a tough one to take.

“The final, I didn’t enjoy it,” he says. “The whole day just wasn’t enjoyable. And I was dreading the next day and the day after, on the crutches, with a cast. I’d rather have gone home, to be honest, on the Monday morning. But I hung around with the players. We did what we had to with the homecoming.

“For me, you’re just a supporter on the day. It’s not enjoyable. That’s something that will be driving me on next year to wear the Kilkenny jersey, get back midfield. But it’s a long way with the rehab coming down the line. I’m on week seven. Cast for five weeks. Two weeks in the boot. Another few days in the boot. Crutches for another few days.

“You’re talking April, May before you’re talking about being back full hurling. That’s everything going according to plan. I know from talking to other players, calf strains can be a hassle coming down the line.

“No doubt the back will kick off in April, May as well, could cause more problems. You have to be positive though, not think about the negatives. Fingers crossed, if I get this rehab right, get back in the Kilkenny jersey in May or June.”

Michael Fennelly

Michael Fennelly

Kilkenny have bounced back impressively from set-backs before, most obviously when they were beaten in the 2010 All-Ireland Final by Tipperary and the 2013 All-Ireland Quarter-Final by Cork.

Fennelly admits though that it might not be so easy this time for them to hit back immediately in 2017 in similar fashion by winning another All-Ireland title.

“I suppose there's a huge difference with our 2011 team and now, I suppose,” he says. “With all those big names gone, and they are big names. We have players coming in and filling their boots but it'll never be the same obviously because they were top-class in the country hurlers. Henry, Tommy, JJ, you'd never come across them lads really for another couple of years or decade or two.

“But, no, we have lads coming up. We have some nice players that haven't been on the panel this year but I think could be brought in maybe next year. We probably need a bit of fresh blood coming in and pushing lads like me, and the older lads like Richie Hogan and TJ. They're all now in their late twenties and we need players pushing them, I suppose.

“That's key. Waterford have a bucket-load of them coming through. Clare always have a good few coming through as well. They have that and we need that. We need our U-21s doing more, we need our minors doing more to push the older fellas on the team.”

Kilkenny fans were bullish in the aftermath of the 2010 All-Ireland Final defeat that their team would avenge that loss to Tipperary in short order, but the same optimism doesn’t seem to be there this time around.

Michael Fennelly

Michael Fennelly

Fennelly has noticed the subdued atmosphere in the county himself, but insists the team won’t be affected by it.

“I think the fact that we won '14 and '15 and we've won an awful lot over the last 10 years and maybe people are like, 'look, this team has to come to a finish at some stage, maybe'.

“Obviously we don't think that ourselves, but I think it's only natural, to be honest. What people say or think doesn't really come into our perspective. We're a team and we have goals that we set for ourselves.

“That's all that matters. It doesn't matter if people in our own county don't think we're strong enough. It's what we think I suppose.”

Fennelly admits being underestimated or overlooked will be a source of motivation for the Kilkenny players next year, but he knows too that Tipperary will be hard to know from their pedestal in 2017.

“Tipperary, they've a strong panel,” he says. “They have massive strength and I think they probably will learn from 2010. I think they will probably keep their feet more on the ground.

“Mick Ryan, I know him from my banking days, he's a shrewd colleague. He'll definitely keep their feet on the ground. Yeah, they'll be a massive, strong force next year. I'd say they'll be semi-final, final, once again, challenging to retain the Liam MacCarthy."