The heat is on for Tribesmen

GALWAY captain Paul Conroy will be praying he will get the all-clear for his foot injury  as the Tribesmen ramp up their preparations for their Connacht senior football semi-final clash against Sligo at Markievicz Park on Saturday evening, June 21 (7pm).

Conroy, who missed the 3-17 to 0-7 victory over London, will not only be able to remove the medical boot if he gets good news from the specialist but he should also be able to return to training in the coming days.

“It would be a big boost,” agreed boss Alan Mulholland, who was also monitoring a number of other injury concerns, including Milltown’s James Kavanagh (hamstring), who was unable to take part in his club’s SFC victory over Menlough last weekend.

While Mulholland did not expect Kavanagh would be able to train this week, he was hopeful the former Kildare player could return to action next week.

Also on the treatment table at present is Mountbellew/Moylough defender Joss Moore, following a procedure on a knee injury, but on the plus side Sean Armstrong (groin) played the second half in Salthill/Knocknacarra’s shock SFC defeat to An Cheathrú Rua last weekend.

In any event, Mulholland was eagerly looking forward to the provincial semi-final battle against Sligo, albeit a team they have struggled to come to terms with in recent years. “Yeah, I think the last three championship outings, they won two and the other was a draw. So, we have had a problem playing Sligo in that they have got the better of us the last two times.

“I know myself from two years ago, we came off a good victory against Roscommon in the Hyde and we then played Sligo in Pearse Stadium and they beat us by five points that day (2-14 to 0-15). So, it is one where we know we are going to have to play to the best of our ability, especially up there in Markievicz Park, if we are going to beat them.”

In saying that, Mulholland said he would be impressing on his charges the glorious opportunity presented to them if they won, noting, at the very least, it would secure them a place in the knockout stages of the All-Ireland series.