Michael Langan comeback great news for St Michael's and Donegal

For Donegal supporters, the sight of Michael Langan back in action for St Michael’s - in front of the watching Jim McGuinness - felt like another one of these real threshold moments on Sunday. 

The gruesome nature of the injury suffered - where the hamstring actually detached itself from bone - left you wondering just how long he might spend on the sideline. 

Back in late April, and with Donegal on their way to being dumped out of Ulster by Down in Newry, Langan was helped off the pitch on a completely forgettable day.  

It was only later that the serious nature of the injury actually became apparent. 22 weeks on though Langan was bang on schedule and four valuable points helped secure St Michael’s SFC status at the weekend when they downed Milford in the relegation semi-final.

There is no doubt McGuinness will view Langan as one of, if not the, most important cog in his new Donegal revolution. He’s that good. And it’s going to be so interesting to see how McGuinness uses him. 

So the new Tír Chonaill boss would have been anxious to see just how well Langan was moving at the weekend. 

He was sprung just 20 minutes in. But once settled, he boomed four successive second-half points that went a long way in putting Milford to bed. 

So in terms of Donegal’s prospects in 2024, there is no doubting Langan’s Sunday exploits will have sent the county’s new senior football team boss home happy and, for various reasons. 

Revisiting the seriousness of the injury at the time, the player explains that it was complicated in the extreme and involved a trip to London for both assessment and surgery. 

And the same expert hand that managed to get Paddy McBrearty back in accelerated time, Dr Fares Haddad, once again delivered for Donegal football with Langan’s encouraging return to action. 

“It’s brilliant to be back,” he explained. “I felt good. I did wonder could I start, but the lads just felt it would be smarter for me to be coming on when it was tight rather than maybe coming off down the stretch. 

“And that was a great call. It’s just great to get the result. That was the most important thing”. 

In regards to what he’s put himself through in the last half year away from action, he said it was a mental as well as a physical grind. But pushing himself as hard as he could during that process was rewarding in a different type of way. 

“Small gains. You were looking at the schedule and marking off as you go. It was a rewarding process in that sense. The hamstring came off the bone. It’s a strange one. That was reattached by the specialist in that area in London. 

“I knew I was in safe hands there. The recovery process then started. 16 weeks was what was circled on the calendar. So I’m 18 weeks now post-op so it’s kinda all gone to plan. There was a period on crutches and a brace… that was the worst part of it all. 

“You just had to be really, really patient. I just had to sit about and take it really easy. But once that came off and I was back on my feet, it was all systems go. And with the rehab it moved on progressively well. 

“And at that 16-week juncture, I really felt raring to go. I would love to have got more championship games under my belt but I’m really happy with today. It was really nice to come back and feel like I contributed”. 

It’s been a testing season for the Dunfanaghy/Creeslough outfit but having secured their Division 1 status and now their top-flight championship position once more, Langan says a line can now be drawn. 

He believes things can get back on track in 2024 with St Michael’s moving back up the pecking order. 

“There is a wee bit of rust there but it’s rust that can be shaken,” he said on being back in  that red jersey.  “It’s been a difficult season for us as we’ve had some bad luck with injuries. Credit to the management team and the lads, they just got on with it. 

“I really hope they decide to stay on in 2024. The likes of myself, Daniel McLaughlin and Carlos O’Reilly have all been out. We lost lads to America as well. But we pulled it around today and that’s really positive”.