Injury woe for O'Sullivan

Gaelic Games: New Kerry captain Declan O'Sullivan may miss the start of the National Football League after further damaging his knee in the South Kerry senior football final last weekend.

Although just 21, O'Sullivan was the only established inter-county player on the Dromid Pearses side that defeated St Mary's, Cahirciveen, and considering South Kerry won the club championship proper tradition dictates the regional champions get to nominate the county captain for 2005.

The decision to place the responsibility on O'Sullivan's young shoulders suits Kerry manager Jack O'Connor fine as he too is from the Dromid Pearses club.

"It was a great end to the season last weekend," said O'Connor. "Declan does have some cartilage damage but hopefully it will die down and he will not need the operation in the new year."

In the event of minor surgery, O'Sullivan should return by February to spearhead the Kerry attack in the manner that made him one of the country's top forwards over the past two years.

However, in the event of O'Sullivan being unavailable, tradition dictates that Dromid can take the route employed by 2002 champions Kerins O'Rahilly's who had no Kerry starter, although Declan Quill was on the fringes. They duly nominated Mike McCarthy from Kilcummin - the side they beat in the county final.

The only Kerry player on the St Mary's team is Bryan Sheehan, a goalkeeper cum forward, but the under-21 player is yet to establish a permanent place in O'Connor's starting 15 at senior level.

Making a player of Sheehan's inexperience captain might seem strange to some but tradition rules supreme in Kerry football. He has played three years at minor level and was a controversial late call-up to the under-21s in 2003 by the then manager, Jack O'Connor. Also, he is a competent free-taker in the mould of fellow South Kerry stalwart Maurice Fitzgerald.

Other options from the region are Denis O'Dwyer from Waterville, an All-Ireland medal winner in 1997, and midfielder John Sugrue, who won the man of the match award in the county final victory over Laune Rangers.