Jim McGuinness provides injury updates as Donegal maintain perfect start

Donegal manager Jim McGuinness has provided injury updates on key Donegal players following their 0-21 to 1-10 victory over Armagh in MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey.

Donegal has been dealing with the setback of not having their midfield pairing of Jason McGee and Michael Langan, while Naomh Conaill man Finnbarr Roarty was withdrawn on Sunday due to an injury.

The severity of Roarty's injury is at this moment unclear but McGuinness has maintained that work being done with McGee is running smoothly along, Langan, who was subbed off during last weekend's clash with Kerry in Killarney, is expected to miss a few more weeks.

“Finnbarr’s hamstring was tight,” McGuinness said after the Armagh game. “He got a heavy hit there, and his hamstring was tight on the back of that.”

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McGee, who underwent hip surgery last summer, is continuing his recovery but is taking longer than initially hoped.

“Jason is working away and he’s building,” McGuinness said. “It’s probably taking a little bit longer than we would’ve hoped to this point, but he’s back now and we have a very clear plan on what we want to do with Jason.”

Langan, who picked up a hamstring injury last week, will remain sidelined for the next few games.

Despite those absences, Donegal still controlled the midfield battle against Armagh, with Caolan McGonagle and Ciaran Moore playing key roles, an area of the game that pleased McGuinness the most.

“It’s great that we got so much out of it around the middle,” McGuinness said. “With Caolan at centre half-back and Ciaran Moore at wing half-forward coming into that area and being able to do a job, that probably had a big impact on the result in many respects.”

McGonagle, recently back from injury, put in an industrious performance.

“Caolan is probably the most honest young person you come across in every aspect of his life. He worked very hard around the middle, for a man who hadn’t played there in a while and who has also come back from a big injury himself.”

McGuinness’s side has now put up 0-20, 0-23, and 0-21 in their three league games, maintaining their 100pc record in 2025, and are now sitting alone at the top of Division 1.