McBrearty is massive loss, says Devenney
PADDY McBREARTY is out of the Donegal team for the remainder of the summer and his absence has been described as a ‘massive blow’ by county legend Brendan Devenney. The Donegal County Board confirmed yesterday that McBrearty had sustained a season-ending cruciate ligament injury in his knee during his team’s 12-point Ulster final mauling of Fermanagh last weekend. McBrearty went to ground just before half-time, following a collision with a Fermanagh defender, while in the process of kicking his only point of the game. He returned for the second half but was forced off after just two minutes. ‘Donegal GAA wish to confirm that Patrick McBrearty’s injury has been confirmed as a season ending ACL tear. He will be under the care of Dr Kevin Moran and we wish him well in his recovery,’ declared a brief statement issued by the county board. The news leaves Donegal fans reeling after their four-game winning streak in Ulster had seen them touted as All-Ireland contenders. Former star Devenney admitted that Declan Bonner’s team mist plough on without a player who is ‘irreplaceable’. ‘It is just such sad news on a personal level for Patrick and it is a massive blow to the team,’ said Devenney. ‘I think you are talking about one of the best three forwards in the country and in that sense you can’t say that there is someone who can come in and fill his boots. ‘You can lose key players in other parts of the field and find a way to compensate but a guy like Patrick is a special one-off talent who has that capacity to unlock defences and that is just not something you can replace.’ The 24-year-old Kilcar ace was in the form of his life this season. He was selected as a club All-Star and defied injury to light up the spring, maintaining that form the summer when hitting 0-19 (0-15) from play, in Donegal’s successful Ulster campaign. Devenney, though, insisted that Donegal would have to move on to the Super 8s next month and make the best of what they had. ‘That is just the nature of sport. You have to push on and someone else will get an opportunity now and they will just have to go for it. ‘But there is no getting away from it, he is going to be a massive loss,’ said Devenney.