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Pádraic Joyce has confirmed that forward Damien Comer will miss Sunday’s Connacht final clash against Mayo, but suggested he would be back in time for an Irish semi-final if Galway gets there.
The Annaghdown man was nominated for the All-Star Game in 2016 and 2018, but missed last year’s provincial championship due to injury and will suffer the same fate this year.
“He hurt his hamstring against Mayo three weeks ago,” first-year coach Joyce told RTÉ Sport. “Hamstring injuries take four to six weeks, so unless a miracle happens between now and Sunday, we probably won’t see it.”
However, that payback period would put Comer in for a clash with the Munster champions on December 5, assuming they can beat their old rivals this weekend.
Joyce added that Eamonn Brannigan, Damien Varley and Ronan Steed are also concerned about injuries ahead of Galway’s first provincial final meeting with May since 2014 (live on RTÉ2, 1:30 PM).
Joyce won six Connacht medals as a player, but has reached his first final as a coach without his team having to kick a ball. Sligo withdrew from last week’s semi-final due to a Covid-19 outbreak on its panel.
He admits the circumstances are unusual, but he hopes his team is fresh rather than unprepared against a May team playing its fifth straight weekend.
“This is a bit different, there’s no question about it,” he says. “I think the most important thing that both sets of players are missing are the fans.
“Normally there is a huge atmosphere at Galway-Mayo matches, whether it’s Castlebar, Tuam or Galway.
“The weather in November will influence the game, at Salthill, you are guaranteed to have a decent breeze. That will be a factor.
“It will be the fifth consecutive week of May playing so they are tired and we can be fresh. We could be without the games, they have the games. You don’t know.
“But you always play two or three weeks in the championship anyway and we had a very competitive game against Dublin two weeks ago.
“We have worked a lot since that and got a good amount of training.”
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