‘I’ve had to nurse myself back to health’ - Donegal midfielder Jason McGee 

Jason McGee admits it’s been a difficult few seasons as he’s battled back from a troublesome hip injury. 

The Donegal midfielder went under the knife after Donegal’s All-Ireland semi-final loss to Galway back in 2024 and it was a delicate rehab that had to be coaxed along. 

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He didn’t feature in last season’s NFL at all and was still playing catch-up by the time the All-Ireland final clash with Kerry came around in July. 

Even then, with Donegal bailing so much water, he came in around the middle and Donegal finally began to compete with the likes of Joe O’Connor - who had torn serious strips of the Ulster champions around the middle sector. 

In the end, the damage the Kingdom did inside the opening 35 minutes couldn’t be pegged back as they ran out 1-26 to 0-19 winners. 

McGee’s off-season was specifically tailored though, and he continued to work away on his own specific program with the view to getting a full pre-season under his belt. 

And that quiet endeavour seems to have paid off as he featured in all three McKenna Cup outings as well as starting last Saturday evening’s opening league win away to Dublin at Croke Park. 

“Thank God I've had a good run of it,” he said. “I've probably had a very slow two years there with injuries. 

“I'm nursing myself back to health. I hadn’t started a league campaign in a long time. It's very positive, especially getting three games in the McKenna Cup as well. 

“It's good for the head as well - it gives you confidence. And I just hope I can push on now and play injury-free. 

“I worked very closely with the medical team, and thankfully, they got me in good shape.

“That base is very important to me and it's probably something I've missed out on for the last two, maybe three years”. 

McGee admits that sitting idle on the sidelines in that opening half hour on Jones Road back in summer as O’Connor raked the skies was the most difficult of watches. 

But you simply have to park it and move on. He admits it did fester somewhat over the winter and continued to play on the mind. 

However, once Donegal regrouped, McGee says they thrashed it all out and it’s finally parked now. 

But with Jack O’Connor’s men next up in Round 2 of the NFL, the side’s shortcomings that day have inevitably come back under the microscope. 

“It would have been playing on a lot of boys’ minds throughout the club season and coming into pre-season.

“Looking back, it was hard to sweep that one under the carpet. It stung for quite a while.

“There’s going to be the chance there at the weekend to go out and while we’re not going to rectify it, as such, we can go and give it a good rattle.”

And while the surroundings are a little more modest in Ballyshannon and the marble count up for grabs much scarcer, muscle memory is bound to kick in as Donegal and Kerry renew acquaintances on Sunday by the Erne. 

But revenge isn’t the motivation for the hosts. A win for Donegal would set them up nicely and move them onto four points, and that would leave them within touching distance of Division 1 safety. 

McGee said: “They're a quality team. Kerry are coming up and, like ourselves, they probably have a few new lads trying to nail down places. 

“It's early in the league but Kerry always have that depth. They always produce good footballers. It's going to be a good test for both teams.

“Fr Tierney Park… we have a good record there. We want to target these home games and get as many points on the board as early as we can. 

“When you look at the first two fixtures, Dublin away and Kerry at home, that’s right up there, as tricky as it gets. 

“But the way Division 1 has become, all the games now are real battles with sides that will all have big ambitions this summer”.

McGee says another reason he’s glad to be back in the mix so early in 2026 is that competition seems to have ramped up with the influx of a number of fresh-faced youngsters who have already made a real impression.  

“Like Hughie McFadden mentioned last week, it's exciting to see them. They give the older lads in the squad a new lease of life as well. 

“It brings even more competition. They're already shown they are comfortable playing at this level and they're putting up big scores. Shea Malone has been exceptional there for the past few weeks”.

Donegal’s All-Star midfielder Michael Langan also looked to be enjoying having McGee back in beside him around that middle third as he picked up the Player of the Match award in Croke Park. 

“I don’t know about that but Michael, he can mix it with the best. He had an unbelievable season last year. 

“He’s started back exactly where he left off. He's one of the bigger players we have now, and he sets a real standard”.

Another Donegal ‘big man’ who had his injury complaints last term, Caolan McGonagle, is also seeing early minutes in 2026. 

The Buncrana native played in last season’s Ulster Final after missing the two previous games but he aggravated the complaint against Tyrone in the All-Ireland Series. 

He would again work his way back to health and was introduced in the semi-final win over Meath. And while he started the final and got on the scoresheet, he was another one who was playing catch-up at the wrong time of the season.   

Again, if Donegal can keep the likes of McGee, Langan, McGonagle and McFadden fit around that centre zone, they’ll be one of the most formidable middle third teams in the land. 

“'It’s easy to forget now but Caolan bided his time in the beginning so to see him hit the 100-mark in Dublin was brilliant.

“I think the first four to five years, he played very, very little. But he’s workedso hard and he’s one of our main men now - just a real warrior”.