Limerick's Peter Casey has credited teammate Barry Murphy for helping to drive him back to full fitness.
Casey was hurling up a storm in last year’s All-Ireland final win over Cork, having scored 0-5 in the opening 25 minutes, when he ruptured his cruciate ligament.
Murphy came on later in the game to see out the rout but weeks later suffered the same injury while in action for Doon.
They both returned to full training as this year’s Championship came to a head, with Casey coming off the bench in the semi-final and final wins over Galway and Kilkenny respectively.
He explained: “Myself and Barry Murphy were on the exact same timescale with the cruciate and we had plenty of low days but it was great that I had Barry and Barry had me and we were able to count on each other.
“There was loads of times there when me and Barry were doing loads of runs on our own and I can only think if I'd been by myself then it would have been 10 times worse.
“To have Barry going through the whole thing made it so much easier, especially in the gym and in the runs back in Rathkeale back in the winter time. It made it a whole lot easier, thank God.”
He added: “I had two holidays there before Christmas that got me away from it (Dubai was one of them). Around Christmas there it was tough but getting back in among the lads then, the weeks fly by and they actually do really fly by.
It's days like this when you're in the gym that you're hoping to get back to so it's absolutely fantastic to be back and to be part of it and make a contribution is unreal as well.”
Casey’s brother Mike suffered a similar injury before the 2020 Championship and then a number of setbacks subsequently which meant that he couldn’t re-establish himself until this year’s Championship. When it came to winning All-Irelands together, the siblings were like ships in the night.
“Would you believe, out of the four All-Irelands it was the first time that we were both still on the pitch together at the end,” said Peter.
“He was off in 2018 and he wasn't around the last two times with injuries, that was just another great part of [winning this year’s All-Ireland].
“It was great that the two of us were on the pitch together at the end. I'd say my mother didn't thank us too much because her heart would have been all over the place I'd say, but it was brilliant to have the two of us on the field at the finish.”
READ NEXT:
Graeme Souness told 'get in the bin' after 'disgraceful' comments following Chelsea v Tottenham
Exclusive: Shamrock Rovers bat off Championship interest in teen sensation Emakhu
Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel both sent off as Chelsea vs Tottenham descends into chaos
2 Golds and a Bronze for Ireland at Para-Cycling World Championships
Davy Fitzgerald delighted to return to Waterford 11 years on from first stint as Déise boss
Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts
