Dillon doubtful for date with Connacht champions
Mike Finnerty
MAYO manager John O’Mahony faces an anxious wait this week before finding out if Alan Dillon will be fit to line out against Sligo in the Connacht Senior Football Championship next Sunday.
The former All-Star underwent minor surgery last week to treat a haematoma in his hip which developed after he picked up a knock in a club game last month. As a result, Dillon was unable to train last week and also missed a trial match last Saturday behind closed doors in Castlebar.
Speaking exclusively to The Mayo News, the Ballintubber forward admitted that it was an unfortunate time to pick up the injury but that he was ‘hoping’ to have recovered in time to line out in Castlebar next weekend.
“I was lucky enough that I got it diagnosed in time last week,” he said. “I got the bang initially in a league game against Islandeady a couple of weeks ago but it really only flared up after the championship match against Moy Davitts.
“If I’d left it a day or two it could have been serious. It’s a bit sickening that it’s two weeks before championship but I’m hoping to be okay.”
If Dillon fails to recover in time it seems almost certain that Ballina’s Pat Harte will come into the frame. The likes of Billy Padden and Aidan Kilcoyne would also seem likely candidates for promotion to the starting fifteen.
However, the news is much more positive on Conor Mortimer. The Shrule/Glencorrib forward has recovered from his thigh strain and trained last week without any adverse reaction. He also played a full part in the aforementioned trial match last Saturday.
MEANWHILE, John O’Mahony admitted that he was aware of the pressure on him and his team heading into Sunday’s game. “Sligo are the Connacht champions, so there’s a certain amount of pressure,“ he told The Mayo News last night.
“But sure, there’s pressure on everyone else as well. We are playing the champions, and people sometimes tend to forget that. And we saw they won it the hard way last year – they went to Roscommon and beat Roscommon, played Galway, who had been in a league semi-final, and turned them over.
“So we would very much respect Sligo, and we’re going to have to be better than we were in any league game, and better than we were in the championship last year, to beat them.”
