Chin concerned by second wave of Covid-19
WEXFORD hurling ace Lee Chin fears the Championship could still fall victim to a second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The All-Star wing-forward also dismissed a claim that Wexford’s condensed hurling championship is to facilitate Davy Fitzgerald’s preparation of the county as ‘misinformation’ and added that the GAA had made the right decision in putting club before county. ‘The longer this thing goes on, the more the percentage threat of this pandemic hitting another spike increases and potentially after that you do not know what could happen,’ he said. ‘We could see another Covid19 spike and the intercounty season could come to a halt which is why I favour the club season coming first. It is a positive thing.’ He went on to rubbish a suggestion that the Wexford board had bowed to pressure from Fitzgerald in playing off the club hurling championship during the month of August. ‘I don’t know if that is entirely true. I think there is a bit of misinformation around that. I don’t like to think that it is a case of them and us,’ said Chin, who yesterday handed over the keys to a €405,000 house to lucky winners of his hurling club Faythe
Harriers fundraiser draw.
Chin also insisted that Wexford’s dual hurling players will not shirk their commitment to play football for their clubs.
The Wexford management committee met remotely last night to confirm the details of their championships, which will see their hurling championship completed in August — two weeks prior to the return of collective intercounty training — with the football championship scheduled to start in September.
It has led to fears that not only will football manager Paul Galvin see his county team’s preparation suffer as a result but also that some county hurlers may not play football given the proximity to the intercounty season, which begins on October 17.
But Chin, who played for the Wexford footballers before committing exclusively to the hurlers, insisted that he would be playing for his football club Sarsfields in September and he believes that all his county teammates will do likewise.
‘I don’t see why not. I have every intention of playing with my club in the football. I don’t see why not,’ Chin told
Sportsmail yesterday. ‘A lot of the lads who hurl for Wexford are key figures in football for their clubs so I would not see why they would not be togging out and playing.’
In normal times, players committing to play both codes for their clubs would normally not even be in question, but with a truncated club season which will even see midweek championship games, the risk of injury to players has been magnified.
Adding to that risk is the fact that players will officially be exposed to only 11 days of contact training prior to the scheduled start of the club championships on July 31 which Chin conceded yesterday is a major concern.
‘Potentially, there is a risk there considering that everyone has been laid up for the last number of months and the fact that we will not be allowed back to contact training for some time,’ admitted Chin.
‘And the fact that less than two weeks out from the championship you are back into contact and then for a couple of weeks on the trot you will have full-on games at championship intensity means that there are guys who are going to be exposed to a high risk of injury but the athletes these days are very good at maintaining their workload to ensure that they have the energy in their legs for the week,’ he said.
‘Club players are very aware of their health, fitness and nutrition. It is going to be about guys looking after themselves after games; the recovery is all important, the stretching, hitting the water, a light jog, just keeping themselves away from tightness and protecting themselves from the vulnerability of picking up an injury when they play the following week,’ said Chin, who yesterday handed over the keys to a €405,000 house in a draw run by his hurling club Faythe Harriers.
With club pitches locked down even for non-contact training until June 29, players around the country are trying to prepare for what promises to be a frantic season as best they can.
‘I don’t see any harm in some county players getting together to go through tactics and strategy,’ he said of the return of teams.
‘The club pitches have not opened yet and you are gathered together in beaches and ball parks, so it is something I am looking forward to getting back to in a couple of weeks and get back to the pitch,’ added Chin, who believes what has happened over the past few months has provided him with a fresh perspective.
‘With the circumstances we were under, we did not know what was going to go ahead at all during the year and it is a big bonus, a big positive, that we have clarity now and that we might have games.
‘Of course the prospect of missing the rest of the season would be something that no one would like to face but it is what it is and it is not about that, it is about staying safe and keeping your family safe.
‘I know in your career that you want to play every moment of and enjoy every moment but sometimes in life you get a bit of perspective about what is more important and circumstances like this can put things back into perspective.’