Donegal suffer latest blow as Ryan McHugh departs

Donegal have suffered a fresh blow with confirmation that Ryan McHugh has left the panel.

McHugh has been nursing a groin injury and has not featured so far in 2023.

The Kilcar man has decided to take up a job offer that will involve traveling. In any event, McHugh has indicated that he would be unavailable for the next couple of months because of his injury.

The 2014 GAA Young Player of the Year, McHugh was an All Star winner in 2016 and 2018. He won three Ulster SFC crowns and played in the 2014 All-Ireland final, which Donegal lost to Kerry.

On Sunday fortnight, Donegal will face Down in Newry in the opening round of the Ulster SFC.

It has been a troublesome campaign with Paddy Carr stepping down as manager last month, after just 149 days in the job.

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Matches have been played against a backdrop of strife in Donegal GAA with an independent team from Croke Park and the Ulster Council beginning a probe into recent issues that have beset the county.

Relegation was confirmed with a heavy defeat to Roscommon, with Aidan O’Rourke and Paddy Bradley set to guide Donegal for the Championship.

The departures of Michael Murphy and Neil McGee at the end of the 2022 season saw two icons of the county leave the stage.

New captain Patrick McBrearty picked up an injury that ruled him out of the remainder of the inter-county season while Odhran McFadden-Ferry is also on the long-term absent list.