‘I need to crawl before I can walk before I can jog’ says Meehan on comeback

It’s still too soon to talk about renaissance days for Galway football, although with Corofin back in the All-Ireland club football final on St Patrick’s Day, and the county sitting on top of Division Two of the Allianz League, there is something of a rebirth.

It’s definitely too soon to talk about any return of Michael Meehan, although one year after his self-imposed retirement due to injury, there may be something of a rebirth there, too. The Galway forward, still only 30, hasn’t ruled it out, not that he ever did, and there clearly is still some desire to get back onto the intercounty stage, provided the body allows.

“I stepped away last year because I had no option,” says Meehan, a victim of a chronic ankle cartilage injury. “Can I go back? I’d love to. I’d love to get back and do something, just start off and play as much as I can, if I can.

“The ankle is fine now because I’m not doing a whole lot on it. I didn’t really do a lot at all last year, only with my club. So I suppose I got a break, if nothing else. More recently, I was just rehabbing a knee injury. I had surgery in December; just a bit of maintenance. So I’m just trying to rehab that and get back on my feet properly, and see what I can do this year. But I’m not doing a whole lot.”

Meehan has, however, spoken with new Galway manager Kevin Walsh, the 2001 All-Ireland winner who clearly understands the potential value Meehan still presents: “I spoke to him a few times,” confirms Meehan, “but there’s no pressure coming from anywhere there. But I need to crawl before I can walk before I can jog. See we’ll how it goes.”

Ongoing concern

The knee surgery he underwent in December was about addressing some minor cartilage issues, although the cartilage issue with his ankle remains an ongoing concern: “I don’t have the cushion there, on the bone versus bone. It’s restricted movement, and it reacts negatively to training. It just flares up, and gets stiff and sore. I managed it fairly well there for a few years, but it was all-consuming, for four years.

“It was a relief at the time just to step away. It was a hard thing to do but it was a relief. Because the enjoyment, there was none. And that’s what the game is about really.”

In the meantime Meehan has played a couple of games with his club, Caltra, All-Ireland champions back in 2004. Nothing about Corofin’s win over St Vincent’s on Saturday, giving them a shot at another All-Ireland title, surprised Meehan, and he reckons the champions of 1998 have the ability to go all the way again.

“And I’d be delighted for them,” he admits. “I’d know a lot of them very well, they’re a serious club in Galway football, and their goal is not a county title anymore. They’re looking much further down the road. They’ve missed out on a couple of All-Ireland final appearances over the last six or seven years . . .

“And they’ve been able to keep coming back, fair play to them. I think they’ve a good mix, some seasoned campaigners that won All-Ireland’s with Galway in 2001, like Kieran Fitzgerald and Michael Comer. Then they have a younger crop of players that won under-21 All-Ireland’s with Galway in 2005, with myself, like Alan Burke and Gary Sice. Then they’ve lads that have won All-Ireland’s a couple of years ago with Galway, in Ian Burke and a few more. So it’s a good mix.”