LEE’S BIG FEAR
Another head injury may end Keegan career
LEE KEEGAN has admitted that suffering another concussion would force him to think about his future as a Mayo footballer.
Keegan, 28, suffered the third concussion of his career following a collision with Pádraig McClure in Mayo’s League defeat to Tyrone in March and is still sidelined as a result of a shoulder injury sustained in the same incident.
The Westport man is hopeful of returning for Mayo’s Round 1 Qualifier tie with Limerick on Saturday week, but admits another heavy blow to the head would leave him facing a difficult decision.
‘It probably is a bit of a concern,’ he said. ‘The way I play the game and the way the position is, you’re constantly in contact. But if you go out thinking of that, you’re going to pull out of challenges and so, I suppose, it can be just bad luck as well. If it happens again we’ll have to really sit down and maybe assess where I’m going after that. I’m not getting any younger.’
To ease any concerns, Keegan went for a brain
scan following the collision with McClure, which also left him with a dislocated shoulder. ‘We did a test a couple of weeks after it and everything showed up positively,’ he continued, before stating it was a ‘far worse’ hit than his last concussion, a clash of heads with Eoin Cadogan in a League game against Cork in 2016. ‘I had a good chat with our medical team after it because there was the Cork game and I had one before it as well. It was a concern initially. ‘I did suffer quite badly that night with headaches and that. To be fair to Sean Moffatt [team doctor], he put all the correct protocols in place for myself. That was another part of the reason not to be rushing back, not just the shoulder but if I got another belt in the head then you’re looking at serious trouble down the line. ‘I went with Liam Moffatt [physio], he’d be over our concussion assessments so we did a full test through it. Nothing showed up. Just for myself it was peace of mind regarding quality of life, that when I do finish up football, whenever that may be, it could be a few years down the line, to have that quality [of life] and not to be worrying about concussion or bones out of place or any of that. ‘I wouldn’t have one bit of worry in that way, once they tell me I’m clear I trust them 100 per cent.’ Having sat out Mayo’s Connacht Championship defeat to Galway, the 2016 Footballer of the Year is now on course to make his return against Billy Lee’s Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds. Today marks 10 weeks since Keegan went under the knife, where he had eight anchors put in to fix the tear on his shoulder ligaments. And Keegan, who was speaking as SuperValu launched their #BehindTheBall campaign in Croke Park, added that he feels the game is getting more physical each year. ‘It’s more like a rugby zone. The hits are heavier and the tackles bigger. Lads are bigger now and in better shape than when I first played. The gym wasn’t too interesting for me when I started but now, it’s huge. The game is a bit of a war zone over the past few years and it’s involved into a type of rugby mentality: kill or be killed. ‘I’m not its biggest fan. I prefer running or playing with a football but teams have definitely become more physical. ‘If it works for teams, they’re going to do it. If it doesn’t, they’re going to have to assess where they’re going wrong. You look at Kildare at the weekend and they looked to be over-reliant on gym work rather than maybe basic skills. ‘We tend to pride ourselves on our football rather than how many weights we can lift.’