Covid hit me pretty hard. I missed out on so much

RICHIE LIFTS LID ON RED HAND VIRUS NIGHTMARE

FRANCIS MOONEY

COVID was the silent thief that stole Richie Donnelly’s All-ireland dream.

Struck down ahead of the Ulster final, recovery was slow and tortuous, ruling him out of the semi-final clash with Kerry and the Sam Maguire Cup decider against Mayo.

Donnelly had already been floored by the virus by the time the squad was ravaged by a major outbreak as they prepared to meet the Kingdom in the last four.

While the vast majority bounced back to take the Allireland series by storm, the Trillick man struggled to shake the lingering effects.

As he slowly returned to health, the realisation dawned that there was to be no place in the matchday squad for what would have been the biggest games of his career.

“I got it the week before the Ulster final. It was bad timing in the peak of the summer,” said Donnelly. “It was pretty bad. I didn’t expect to take it as bad, it affected me for a good while.

“But thankfully I’m back in good health. There’s a lot of people worse off with Covid, so I’m very lucky that way.

“The goal at the start of the year was for Tyrone to win an All-ireland, and that’s what happened.

“Whatever happens within that, that’s sport and that’s life.

“Things don’t go your way all the time, but I’m absolutely thrilled that the group was able to deliver an All-ireland, and within the group, we never, ever doubted that we could do that.

“And there’s definitely more there too.”

Now he’s doing his utmost to park the disappointment and move on.

“It didn’t help my case in claiming a jersey or a team position, but I don’t look back with regret. I got Covid, I was out for a while, it affected me, but I threw absolutely everything at it and I have no regrets that way at all.”

But all is not lost, and the season can be saved on the home front.

A new target has opened up fresh possibilities, and a third Tyrone Championship medal with Trillick is the focus.

The St Macartan’s take on Killyclogher in Friday’s quarterfinal in a clash of two leading title contenders.

When they met at the same stage last year, extratime and penalties were required to separate the sides and see Trillick through.

“Whenever we face each other it’s always very tight, and this year will be absolutely no different.

“They will look forward to it, we will look forward to it, and it should be a good game.”