Cillian O’Connor’s championship in doubt due to Achilles injury

The problem with any Achilles tendon injury which requires surgery is twofold: it’s not possible to resume any proper running activity until the injury has fully healed. And it’s not possible to speed up the healing process for fear of the injury reoccurring. As a result that healing process invariably takes months rather than weeks.

For Mayo All Star forward Cillian O’Connor, this likely means his 2021 football championship campaign may be over before it even begins. Confirmation on Wednesday that O’Connor is to undergo a procedure on his injured Achilles tendon later this week certainly rules him out on contention for Mayo’s campaign opener against Sligo on Saturday week, and any involvement whatsoever will ultimately depend on how long that campaign lasts.

O’Connor sustained the injury shortly before half-time in last weekend’s Division Two playoff against Clare in Ennis, which Mayo won 2-22 to 2-18, securing their return to Division One next season. O’Connor scored 1-4 (a neat combination of penalty, a mark, a free and two points) in what was his 100th appearance for the county, and despite his early retirement was still Mayo’s top scorer on the day.

He was about to set out in his 11th senior championship season. Mayo GAA released a short statement on the matter.

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“Following last Sunday’s NFL game versus Clare GAA all injured players received further assessment with the Mayo medical team.

“Cillian O’Connor sustained an Achilles tendon injury that will require a procedure this week. We wish him well and look forward to seeing him on the playing field again as soon as possible.”

Of his 100 appearances for Mayo, 60 have been in the championship, and O’Connor was central in Mayo’s progress to the All-Ireland final last year. During that run he extended his position as the football championship’s all-time record scorer, finishing with a total of 30-377, including 4-9 in the All-Ireland semi-final win over Tipperary at Croke Park.

Such a loss for the foreseeable future represents a major setback to Mayo’s championship hopes. After beginning their championship campaign away to Sligo on Saturday week, the winners play Leitrim in the Connacht semi-final on July 11th, two weeks ahead of the Connacht final against the winner of Roscommon and Galway. Like last year there is no back door in the football championship this year.

The Ballintubber man, who turned 29 in May, collected his second All Star in 2020, to go with his first in 2014, and has also won six Connacht titles, one league, two All Stars, and scored 30-337 in 60 championship appearances. He was also young footballer of the year in 2011 and 2012.

His 2020 season also came off the back of an extended absence of the game, due in part to the pandemic. After Mayo’s semi-final exit in 2019, he went a full 14 months without a game, as he didn’t feature in the early round of the league at the start of 2020.

He said at the time that the lay-off did allow him to get on top of his injuries: “I think the lay-off has allowed players time to rehab injuries, do some future-proofing against knocks hopefully, but also the mental side. It’s given us time to take a step back, step out of the bubble for a few months, and just appreciate the position we’re in.

“And it was 14 months in all, between Mayo matches. I actually couldn’t believe it myself, when I was looking at the diary, trying to work it out. It was my longest period ever between games. I was coming back for the Galway game back in March, buzzing fit, and then it got pulled at the last minute. Such is life.”

O’Connor’s younger brother, Diarmuid, was also injured in the win at Cusack Park, coming off with what appeared to be an ankle strain, although he should be okay for the Sligo game.