Farrell is confident he will be able to start

Dessie Farrell remains confident of starting in Dublin's opening championship match tomorrow evening despite concerns about his fitness. A chronic knee injury continues to limit Farrell's training with the panel although he has been named at full forward for the meeting with Wexford in Dr Cullen Park, Carlow (6.15).

Farrell has avoided all contact aspects in training over the last week. Instead he has worked on more basic elements of his fitness, including some work in the swimming pool, and he admits that his preparations have been limited.

"Well it's certainly not ideal," he said yesterday. "The plan at the minute is definitely to start against Wexford, though a lot will depend on how the knee holds up. But I'd be hopeful now that it would be alright."

After undergoing an operation before Christmas to remove damaged cartilage from the injured knee, Farrell subsequently missed Dublin's entire National League campaign and early challenge games. The challenge against Cork a fortnight ago, where he played almost the entire game at full forward, remains his only test in several months.

"To be honest as well, I've done very little since the Cork game. It hasn't been easy to fully diagnose the problem with the knee, and there is problem with arthritis there as well. And it does still cause trouble from time to time.

"So the mobility has been affected a little bit, and it means you have to be more careful about how you manage it and look after the problem. I suppose it remains to be seen just how bad it is."

For Farrell, who last week was announced as the new chief executive of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), the eagerness to get back playing is sure to help get his mind off his injury.

"Right now I'm really looking forward to this game. It was last August when I last played a competitive game for Dublin. It's a new campaign now, under new management, and I suppose it feels like a new team as well. And I think we all feel very refreshed right now, and just eager to get this game going."

There were a few hints in the challenge with Cork that Farrell may not be as far off the pace as such a long lay-off might suggest, scoring from play and setting up a couple of scores too. Manager Tommy Lyons would most likely look to Johnny McNally, Eoin Bennis or Jason Sherlock if Farrell's knee fails to hold up.

Tomorrow's game also marks the first competitive outing under new Dublin captain Coman Goggins, who took over from Farrell earlier this month. The winners here will progress to the second Leinster football semi-final on June 23rd, which will be the first major game on the new Croke Park playing surface.