Irish Daily Star - Inside Sport
ROISIN RELISHES BEING BACK FOR THE LILYWHITES
IN rEALITy, it may have just been a first round game in Division Three of the Lidl National Football League but for róisín Byrne, Kildare’s clash with Down at St Conleth’s Park on January 22 felt like a whole lot more.
Having overcome persistent shoulder problems to be named on the TG4 Intermediate Team of the Championship for 2020, the Sarsfields attacker suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in the Lilywhites’ League encounter against Longford on June 6 of the following year.
While she underwent surgery a month later, she was back under the knife again in February 2022 due to the fact there was also substantial damage to the cartilage in her knee.
Feature
During her time on the sidelines, Byrne readily admits experiencing doubts over whether she’d ever feature again in a competitive intercounty fixture.
But those fears were finally put to bed when she contributed 1-5 as a starter in last month’s emphatic 3-13 to 0-6 victory for Kildare.
“I had ruptured the ACL, but I had actually shattered the cartilage, nearly all of it. The surgeon had basically said ‘we’ll repair whatever cartilage we can’, but that it was so badly damaged that he anticipated in the next two years I’d be back for another surgery to remove the last part of it,” Byrne explained.
“When I started getting back doing more rigorous training, it became apparent that it wasn’t going to work. It was a bit experimental to see can we save a bit of it and we couldn’t. I had the big surgery in July (2021) and I had another surgery the following February.
Match
“My first match back with Kildare was on the pitch that I’d done my knee on. That was in my head as well. I know it was the first round of the League, but for me it felt nearly like we’d won a Leinster or we’d won an All-Ireland.
“There were definitely times in the last year and a half where I didn’t think I’d be able to get back. Getting through Down and playing a full match, that was unbelievable.”
When you consider how little match practice she had coming into 2023 (a combination of injury recovery and a decision to go travelling meant she didn’t see any club action with Sarsfields last year), Byrne’s form for Kildare thus far becomes all the more remarkable.
Following her impressive showing against Down — which was preceded by a couple of appearances in challenge matches — she has gone on to amass big tallies in subsequent wins over Longford (2-5) and Clare (0-7).
Despite acknowledging there is a long road left to travel, Byrne is happy with how things are progressing for her on a personal level.
“In hindsight, if you were to tell me where I’d be a year ago, when I was going through the rehab, I’d be absolutely delighted.
“Now that I’m here and looking at things I can improve, I feel like my speed isn’t where it was. My fitness needs a bit of work. My accuracy and my shooting stayed and I’m lucky with that, but there’s definitely a lot of things I need to stay working on.”