Derry hurling boss Dominic ‘Woody’ McKinley fears one minor injury could end a player’s season such is the compact nature of the new inter-county campaign.
Last weekend, the Oak Leafers clinched promotion from Division 2B of the Hurling League following a 1-23 to 2-15 win over Sligo in Ederney.
Just eight days later, they begin their Championship campaign with a home fixture against Wicklow in Celtic Park (1pm).
Read more: Tyrone’s strength-in-depth severely diminished by departures says Ciaran Gourley
With the Christy Ring Cup decider scheduled for Sunday, May 22, McKinley says that nursing injured players through the campaign will be half the battle as they bid to return to the final having lost out to Offaly last term.
“It is what it is - this is what you get with the spit-season,” said McKinley.
“You are juggling injuries all the time. You can make a decision on a player this week and it could backfire.
“Richie Mullen, for instance, is coming back from a hamstring injury. We’ve another couple of boys with hamstring and groin injuries. You can play them this week, but if they get injured again, that’s them out of the whole Championship.
“That’s what we are thinking about and juggling with at the minute. We need everyone back and we need everyone to be at it, but we are relying on the strength and conditioning coaches and the physios over the coming weeks.
“We’ll be listening to their information and that will be key in terms of how we go in the Christy Ring Cup.
“If you take two or three players from your team, particularly in the forward line, it is hard to get those scores.”
Derry put Wicklow to the sword in last year’s competition and claimed a facile 2-24 to 0-12 win in Aughrim in the League.
When it was put to McKinley that he could be tempted to rest any players carrying a knock for Sunday’s Christy Ring Cup opener, he replied: “It is a dangerous mentality.
“I always believe in playing to your strengths and going with your best team. I think you always have to respect your opponent because you don’t want a slap in the face.
“Whatever players we have, we’ll be putting in as long as the physios say they are fit to play. If they say give them another week, we’ll take that advice on board.
“We have to get those decisions right for the player and for the team.
“I wouldn’t read a great deal into Wicklow’s League form. I would expect them to be up for this game - it is the first game in the Christy Ring Cup and getting off to a good start is key.”
Derry were relegated from Division 2A back in 2016 and lost successive Division 2B finals in 2019 and 2020 to Wicklow and Down respectively.
While McKinley feels there is room for improvement from their final performance last weekend, he hopes the win will provide his squad with a boost of confidence for the weeks ahead.
"It was good for the boys because they’d tried a few times and had come a bit stuck in the final,” added the Derry boss.
“Maybe nerves got the better of them at times. They were nervous on Saturday too, but they got over the line. It means a lot to them to move up that division.
"There is a bigger profile and maybe a bit more respect playing in it. It is a big step up for them.
“Our performance was probably patchy, but we were always able to stay in control.
"We know that we could get caught out with that kind of performance further down the line so that’s something we’ll work on. All this energy could go away very quickly so we need to be at it.”
Read more: Armagh officials still pondering Rian O'Neill appeal
Read more: Armagh skipper Kelly Mallon fighting fit for promotion joust with Kerry
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
