Patience was a virtue for Eoghan Bán Gallagher during sideline spell for Donegal

Eoghan Bán Gallagher says he just had to trust in the Donegal medical and S&C staff and follow their direction as he looked to shake off a hamstring tear mid-season.

The Killybegs native picked up the injury at training in the lead-in to their final NFL outing away to Mayo in Castlebar.

Speaking at the time, boss Jim McGuinness admitted that while the nick wasn’t as bad as his backroom team initially feared, it was one that was going to mean a prolonged spell on the sideline.

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In the end, the player missed the entire Ulster SFC, watching on as Donegal retained their provincial crown after an extra-time win over Armagh.

He eventually made his return in the All-Ireland series and has been a mainstay ever since.

Given the rotten injury luck he’s had at certain times, Gallagher admits he’s content to not only be looking forward to an All-Ireland final but to also be in rude health too.

“I think it was close to ten weeks that I missed,” he told DonegalLive. “In the middle of that, with it being such a congested calendar of games, there is no real time to feel sorry for yourself.

“I just had to really zone in on what the staff asked of me and followed that as closely as I could.

“Like, the lads did brilliantly but you’re watching on and you just have to be patient. We have a brilliant squad and that’s not just lip service.

“You can see how lads have come in at different times and done real jobs. As well as the starting 15, you also have players busting themselves to put a hand up for the 26.

“We are in good stead and we have all bodies on the pitch. So it’s very positive in the lead-in, no doubt.”

Donegal have a cluster of players left over from Donegal’s 2014 All-Ireland final loss to Kerry with Michael Murphy, Patrick McBrearty, Ryan McHugh and a young Hugh McFadden all part of the playing squad.

On the line, as well as Jim McGuinness, Neil McGee and Colm McFadden were also all involved that afternoon.

But Gallagher and a number of others also suffered an All-Ireland MFC loss to the Kingdom in the day’s curtain-raiser.

He appreciates that all of that will no doubt rear its head in the run-up to the weekend but, in the greater scheme of things, he insists it counts for little or nothing in the here and now.

“We lost that day too to Kerry. It was a disappointing day all around. The likes of Caolan McGonagle, Jamie Brennan and Stephen McMenamin were all there as well.

“But you’re chatting about 11 years ago now so I don’t think anyone will be looking back or dwelling on that ahead of this one.

“It’s just a dream come true, to be looking forward to the All-Ireland. We have big improvements to make, and we know we’ll need to do that with Kerry. They were awesome against Tyrone and were brilliant in the quarter-final too in seeing off Armagh.”

Gallagher made his senior debut for Donegal back in 2016 and while Ulster success followed, the team just couldn’t make any real dent in the All-Ireland series.

And it took the return of McGuinness last term for the team to once again reach the last four.

“Listen, there was still huge planning, effort and plotting going on and even though we’d provincial success, we just couldn’t make the impact we wanted in the All-Ireland.

“That’s the way it is. We just weren’t consistent enough. We got to the semi-finals last year and it’s just nice to have gone a step further now.

“The county will tap into all that fun and excitement. It’s up to them to enjoy it. We just have to concentrate on the job at hand.

“We have lost an All-Ireland semi-final and there are people in the group that have lost finals. And that’s a grim place to be.

“So we need to really focus in on making sure we’re in a position to give it absolutely everything.”