Brogan targets August return to boost Dubs
ALAN BROGAN insists his brother Bernard could still play a part in Dublin’s historic bid for a fourth All-Ireland senior football title in a row. The 2010 footballer of the year went under the knife in Santry’s Sports Surgery Clinic last week to repair a cruciate knee ligament injury. ‘He had the operation last Tuesday (February 28) and he’s back on his feet now,’ said Alan. ‘He’s out and about and he was with the physio yesterday (Monday). So he’s on the road to recovery.’ ‘I suppose he’s looking at how quick can you get back and I think he’ll give it a lash to try and get back for probably August time, the six-month mark. ‘I know how committed he is to it. And if he can get himself right this year, he’ll leave no stone unturned over the next three or four months to get himself right again. ‘Whether he can get back into the team or back into the reckoning is another thing. But I think he’ll get himself fit this year. He’ll try and get back for the end of the Championship. ‘It’s still probably a big ask for a 34-year-old.’ Alan’s words will raise hopes among Dublin fans that the injury won’t signal the end of his brother’s glittering career
with Dublin, the 2010 Footballer of the Year and five-time All-Ireland winner having to make do with cameo roles off the bench for much of last summer, right up to and including the All-Ireland final against Mayo. He suffered the injury in training before the thirdround Allianz League game against Donegal last month.
He sustained a similar injury in the early stages of his career and brother Alan thinks he can still feature for Dublin, despite the high level of competition in the squad who play Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday and are chasing a fifth League title in six seasons. He points to the example of one Ireland and Leinster rugby player as reason for optimism.
‘I think it is possible to get back in six months. I think he was telling me that Fergus McFadden got back in four and a half so… I’m not sure he’ll beat that!
‘I suppose to feature this year, he’d need to get back by the sixmonth mark. If it pushes on to the All-Ireland semi-final stages… unless he comes back in really good form, it’s hard to see anyone forcing their way back into the team at that stage.’
He dismissed any speculation that Bernard — who turns 34 next month — would want to call time on his career and suggested this is likely to have changed any plans to do just that after the 2018 season.
‘I don’t think he’ll want to go on this note. Obviously there are a couple of other factors, too. He’s played the last couple of years coming off the bench. Whether he gets back this year or not, his role will be coming off the bench. So that’s up to him.
‘He took a while to make his decision after the end of last year. Probably similar to myself, he probably said he would give it one last lash. He didn’t go on the team holiday, he was working away from early with a hope of getting some good early runs in the League.
‘So yeah, disappointing. The work he put in in the first six or eight weeks of the season is wasted. But considering this, I wouldn’t rule him out of next year just yet.’
That could be the case if Dublin continue their remarkable run of success.
‘It would be hard to walk away. But we better not talk about fivein-a-row just yet!
‘If he has only a year left, he may as well throw everything he has into trying to get back. And if he can’t get back this year, he might just decide he will give it one more and see where it takes him.
‘But it does get harder and harder. He’ll be 35 next year. And it’s a difficult team to get into at the best of times.
‘I’d be surprised if we don’t see him pulling on the jersey again at some stage.
‘I know he loves playing for Dublin. He’s put a lot of years into it, a lot of effort into it. So I don’t think he’d let it go easy.’