Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Loughran aiming to get back
TYRONE attacker Harry Loughran has placed his football career in the hands of surgeons.
Loughran, who made five Championship appearances for the Red Hands during last year’s run to the All-ireland final, has not kicked a ball in 2019 due to a chronic back problem.
But he’s hoping surgery to address the issue can enable him to revive his career and drag him back from the brink of announcing an enforced retirement at the age of 25.
“I’m three months post-operation now, and hopefully this will enable me to return and give it a proper go,” he said.
“There are always risks with that type of surgery, and the first thing you think about is getting back to normal life.
“The general message I was getting was that the medical guys were hopeful I could get back, but they were certainly giving me no guarantees.
“Even yet, it’s the same message – it’s looking good, but there are no guarantees.”
Remarkably, Loughran has managed to hold down a place in Mickey Harte’s Tyrone squad, playing at the top level of football despite being restricted in training.
Back problems have dogged the Moy clubman throughout his career, but his love of the game has driven him through the pain barrier.
“It’s probably something that people take for granted, but with this injury, I have never been able to train or play properly for club or county.
“When you’re going out to train with it in your head that you can’t properly sprint or twist suddenly, or if you shoot from distance, you’re going to aggravate the nerve, it’s crazy stuff when you’re trying to play at that level.”