Galway captain Seán Kelly hopes to be fit for Sunday’s All-Ireland final against Armagh, after missing the semi-final victory over Donegal with injury.
The Maigh Cuilinn clubman was forced off early in the quarter-final win over Dublin, having previously hurt his hamstring during the All-Ireland SFC group stage clash with Derry in May.
Galway have suffered more than most from injuries this season, star forward Shane Walsh among those who have been carrying knocks.
“It’s tough, you don’t want any injuries,” Kelly told RTÉ Sport at Galway’s All-Ireland final media event.
“You want to give every team a fair chance early, so it is disappointing seeing lads going down with injuries but at the same time, it comes with sport so you have to take the good and the bad.”
Having a watching brief comes easier to some players than others, and Kelly admits that he is one of those who finds it difficult supporting team-mates from the stands.
“It’s 10 times worse than playing it,” he added. “I can’t watch it at all, it’s a real struggle. It’s one of those, hopefully I get to take part the next day but we’ll play it day by day.”
Kelly is back training with Pádraig Joyce’s panel ahead of Sunday’s showdown but whether he makes it onto the field or not, he is confident that the strength of the Galway squad can see them home against Armagh.
“The strength of the squad has really grown in the last few years and I think it’s really gone to a different level,” he said.
“A lot of the lads got good experience throughout the league with the few injuries we picked up so it’s kind of paying off now.
“Some of the challenge games we’ve been playing in-house have been great. They’re so-called A versus B but it could be A versus A to be honest. It’s been good and it’s really pushed on the squad.”
Watch the All-Ireland Football Championship final, Armagh v Galway, on Sunday from 2.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app and listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1
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