Jack O’Connor needs midfield options for Kerry in the year ahead.
Just over seven weeks since he had lifted Sam Maguire, a club match with Austin Stacks saw Joe O’Connor hit with a cruciate injury. The 23-year-old had featured in four of Kerry’s five championship ties. As a midfielder, he was one bracketed in the potential category.
Instead a fortnight later, Moran pulled the plug on his Kerry playing days. Three All-Ireland titles, two All-Stars and 14 seasons formed a substantial body of work.Evan Treacy / INPHO Jack Barry. Evan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO Yet he has stockpiled plenty experience. He played once in the 2016 league for Kerry against Roscommon, made two appearances as a substitute the following year and in 2018 got a sustained run at midfield, playing in five games. Prior to that O’Sullivan was a two-year minor and three-year U21 for Kerry. O’Connor would be well-acquainted with him from this time, as they won the 2014 All-Ireland minor win title and the 2017 Munster U21.Other career paths have emerged.
It was a game where Armagh sought to counter-attack and Kerry saw a world of ball, attempting to probe and pull the rearguard apart for gaps. O’Sullivan was in the thick of it around the centre, often preferring to switch the play with kickpasses for a team-mate to run onto. In a game where scores were severely rationed, his robust style created openings.
And then injuries hit him hard when he came home. In January last year he discolated his shoulder in an All-Ireland intermediate club semi-final with Na Gaeil against Derry’s Steelstown. It curtailed his 2022 ambitions, never quite coming right and other issues cropped up for good measure. Surgery was required on the shoulder after Kerry’s All-Ireland victory.
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