Mayo get away to Belmullet
Mike Finnerty
THE Mayo senior football team are stepping up their preparations ahead of the Connacht SFC clash with Galway by holding a two-day training camp in Belmullet this week.
The squad are due to gather at their base in North Mayo tomorrow evening (Wednesday) and will remain ‘in camp’ until Saturday morning, getting through a large amount of training and planning work in the process.
James Horan and his management team are expected to make use of the impressive Belmullet GAA club facilities at Tallagh which were redeveloped in 2010 at a cost of €1.8m.
The state-of-the-art facility boasts two playing pitches, four dressing rooms, a club house and a covered stand.
The entire Mayo squad trained last Wednesday evening in Longford and have pencilled a challenge match against Fermanagh on Saturday, May 4 in Enniskillen into their schedule ahead of the May 19 fixture with Galway.
Meanwhile, on the injury front, James Horan will be anxiously waiting on medical bulletins this week after Michael Conroy (shoulder), Chris Barrett (ankle), Brian Gallagher (ankle) and Enda Varley (ankle) all sustained injuries in club games last weekend.
Conroy is due to have a scan on his shoulder today (Tuesday) to assess the damage caused when it ‘popped out’ during Davitts’ clash with Crossmolina while Belmullet’s Barrett and Garrymore’s Varley will also be assessed further later in the week.
However, it is understood that Gallagher suffered ankle ligament damage after landing awkwardly during Claremorris’ defeat to Knockmore and looks set to miss Mayo’s clash with Galway next month.
There was good news, though, in relation to Alan Dillon, Keith Higgins and Jason Doherty with all three lining out for their clubs on Sunday. Dillon, who hadn’t played club football since last October, featured for three-quarters of Ballintubber’s league game with Breaffy and showed no ill-effects of his long-term groin problem.
Jason Gibbons (hamstring), Tom Cunniffe (Achilles), Barry Moran (ankle) and Andy Moran (knee) did not play with their clubs due to their respective injury problems.