Injury woes mount for Donegal as Caolan Ward faces lengthy spell on sidelines

Donegal manager Jim McGuinness has stated that Caolan Ward could miss up to 14 weeks of action as the St Eunan’s full-back is added to the extensive list of players that the Naomh Conaill man has had to manage without this season due to injury. 

Ward has not featured this year for the returning Donegal manager, and his absence from the side will be extended after it was noticed that the defender was walking around Breffni Park last weekend on crutches as a result of a training injury which required surgery. 

“Caolan had a hamstring tendon problem that he had to have surgery on last Saturday. That’s going to leave him out for a while now. I think it’ll be medium to longer term for us, I say maybe up to 14 weeks he’ll be out for,” McGuinness said.  

“It was a serious injury. He’s in the same boat that Michael Langan was in. He got it in training in a non-contact drill. It just occurred when he was kicking the ball, and his foot was in an unusual position when he was trying to dink a ball over a player’s head. He felt something immediately from it. 

“I think an injury like that always makes you stop in your tracks and makes you think about the game and how something like that can happen, especially when you have lads who prepare to such an elite level.” 

Elsewhere on the injury front, Eoghan Bán Gallagher was substituted during the first half of Donegal’s 0-12 to 0-11 point win over Cavan last Sunday, after picking up another injury. 

The Killybegs man has just returned from a lengthy absence when he entered as a first-half substitute against Cork in the opening round of the league and it is unknown how long the Donegal defender will be absent for. 

“It’s always a concern when you lose a player like Eoghan. We’ve been trying to manage him as best we can. He had a niggle for a number of weeks, and he got through that. It was just unfortunate the way the tackle happened against Cavan, he got caught on the ground and the guy went through him,” McGuinness said. 

“I hope it’s not as bad, fingers crossed it will only be a couple of weeks or whatever and he can get back on the field again very soon. He’s such an important player for us.” 

Ciaran Moore and Peadar Mogan, two players who starred against Cork in the opening round in MacCumhaill Park, were due to start against Cavan but were withdrawn from the starting lineup by McGuinness before throw-in, after it was discovered both players were carrying minor injuries. 

“Ciaran (Moore) could’ve played against Cavan, but we didn’t want to risk it, just to be precautious. Peadar Mogan is the same, he got a hairline fractur in one of his fingers that put him out too, but he should be fine. 

“There are others too who are working away all the time to get back to playing, and we need that because otherwise it looks like you’re flogging the same players all the time and we just need to be able to freshen the team too.” 

However, the biggest lift for McGuinness and his backroom team was perhaps the return of Oisin Gallen against Cavan, another player who didn’t make an appearance against Cork due to injury. 

But Gallen’s return to play, on top of his superb performance last Sunday came as great relief for the Donegal manager, with the MacCumhaill’s man landing six points against Cavan, including the winning free in the dying minutes of the match. 

“That’s what you want in your key players, that they have a capacity to understand a key moment and execute it,” McGuinness said about Gallen’s winning point against Cavan. 

“Oisin led from start to finish. I think he finished with six points. He’ll only get better as a player because he hasn’t had a lot of football, so, he needs to build up his fitness levels. 

“We know game fitness is just a different level to training, but overall, we’re delighted to have Oisin back playing.”