Jim McGuinness heralds long-awaited return of 'very accurate' Conor O'Donnell

The return of Conor O'Donnell, who posted two points as a half-time substitute, was among the big highlights from Donegal's win over Clare in Castlebar.

The Carndonagh man spent a year on the sidelines, but made his return as Donegal booked an All-Ireland quarter-final spot.

It was exactly a year since he last played a competitive fixture, 52 long weeks since he played in an All-Ireland group stage win over Monaghan. An injury in the warm-up before the subsequent defeat against Tyrone in Ballybofey knocked him out of action.

“I'm delighted that Conor is back,” Donegal manager Jim McGuinness enthused after the 2-23 to 0-5 win at MacHale Park.

“He got two points from play and that's what he gives us. He got two points from five or six balls.

“He is a very accurate player off both feet. He is hard to watch and has a good turn of pace. We're delighted and the boys are delighted for him.”

In January, O'Donnell began work on an anti-gravity treadmill and, at the time, McGuinness outlined the small steps that were needed. In doing so, he described O'Donnell's ailment as “quite a serious injury, one that if not looked after properly could have been a career-ending injury”.

O'Donnell is back with Donegal heading for the last eight, by-passing the potential pitfalls of the preliminary quarter-finals by virtue of topping group 3.

Former Donegal forward Colm McFadden, an All-Ireland winner 12 years ago, praised O'Donnell's hard graft.

“It was a long road back,” McFadden said. “He knew in the depths of winter that it would be the summertime before he was back in action.

“He worked hard all through the winter and he finally got his opportunity. He stepped up and he kicked two great scores. It's not easy to be out that long and watching the rest of the boys playing. It's great to have him back in action.”

Ryan McHugh, who scored 1-4 in the destruction of Clare, hailed O'Donnell's comeback, just when Donegal needed it.

The Kilcar man said: “It's great to see him back in. Football has always been about big squads, but it's even more important now with the way the Championship is.

“ You need players coming off the bench who can make a real difference. We have that now. It's great for us going forward. It makes the training games more competitive because these boys are pushing hard to get starting jerseys.”