Mattie Donnelly thought his inter-county career was “cooked” after sustaining another serious hamstring injury last year.
But after some careful consideration he decided his race wasn't run and that he would “throw the sink at it.”
The Trillick All-Ireland winner sustained the injury in last year’s narrow final round, Division 1 win in Kerry, which ensured Tyrone avoided the drop.
Read more: Feargal Logan calls for Tyrone to back up Kerry scalp as Jack O’Connor questions free count
Donnelly admits he was “in a bad place" after receiving the news.
Having won everything in the game, the easy call would have been to walk away, but the 32-year-old double All Star believed he still had plenty to contribute.
His 2022 county season may have been over, but he was told he could get back again for the club.
Now he’s pushed on again and is back for another year with Tyrone. His hard work paid off at the weekend with three points in a fine personal display against Kerry as the Red Hand men hauled themselves off the bottom of Division 1.
“The one (hamstring injury) in 2019 was graded a 3C and the one in Killarney last year was a 4C in the same hamstring but different tendon,” he explains.
“When I got the phone call at that stage to tell me the scan results, I was in a pretty bad place then in that I thought that was me cooked.
“The words were, ‘Your county season’s over and you can get back with the club.’
“Once I got a better outlook, did some work and spoke to people about what was possible - they gave me a bit of hope. I committed to that. I didn’t want to go out like that.
“I threw the kitchen sink at it. I’d no option but to make it work.
“You always have to keep the wolves from the door but I’m willing to do that.
“You mightn’t have many of these days left and I was just enjoying every week with the Tyrone boys.”
Seven players left the Tyrone squad after they won the All-Ireland in 2021.
Donnelly, with his All-Ireland, might have followed them a year later.
“It’s never going to be easy when you make that decision but I just felt a duty - more an affiliation with the boys who were there,” he says.
“I’ve a lot of time for them boys and it wouldn’t be in my nature not to batten down the hatches through these sort of patches. I still think I’ve plenty to offer. I enjoy county football and everything that surrounds it.
“People say it’s a big sacrifice but I enjoy it and it’s a choice I like to make. When I felt I had juice in the tank, why not?”
Donnelly was told to go for surgery, but he felt it wasn’t the right option for him.
“I just thought that if I went for surgery that was me done because it’s such a long way back and the body takes so long to get over surgery,” he says.
“I made the decision against a lot of advice to avoid surgery at that stage.
“So there’s been a lot of hard work to get over that hurdle and there still is a lot of work just to keep the body right and to compete at this level.
“I can never look too far ahead and despite the last few weeks proving difficult, I’ve been enjoying being able to train with the boys and enjoying the boys’ company.
“I was frustrated we probably weren’t expressing that in the way that we can so we’ll enjoy it (win over Kerry at the weekend) and go back on Tuesday and try to kick it on again.”
As skipper Donnelly was constantly attempting to build up players who were doing all the training and not getting game time.
This year he’s found himself in their position.
“I used to be on the other side of the fence where you’re starting, you’re maybe captain and you think you can empathise with boys that aren’t getting minutes,” he says.
“You’re always telling them to be positive and that they’re putting the service down to Tyrone. I’d be a bit hypocritical if I didn’t practise what I preach there. That’s all I’ve been trying to do.
“No point lying, the last two years I went through the ringer with injuries and that but I’m content with where I’m at. There’s a lot of football to be played and although I wasn’t getting many minutes, I had full faith that I could contribute to Tyrone and still have something to give to Tyrone, whatever way that is.
“Whether it’s starting or coming off the bench, I’ll do it. Like the rest of them, I’ve a lot of work to do. We performed well (against Kerry) but we’ll not be getting carried away.”
Donnelly says he still feels like he has something to prove, despite his achievements for Tyrone and Trillick.
“Everyone needs to be of that mindset, that you have to earn the Tyrone jersey every week, and you do that by training hard and playing hard,” he remarks.
“That’s really been my approach. There’s no point lying. There’s no point saying you can go into the game relaxed and say I’m good enough to play for Tyrone – you have to go out and prove it. That’s what my focus was today.”
Tyrone’s poor All-Ireland defence in 2022 is something they can’t get away from.
They overcame Fermanagh in Ulster, but were well beaten by Derry in the Ulster quarter-final, before exiting against Armagh in a first round qualifier.
Donnelly said: “We were disappointed. It was, being brutally honest, a feeble attempt.
“But having said that, I don’t believe any All-Ireland champions have ever faced the turnaround and the fixtures schedule we had in terms of the club season and Covid.
“The schedules were impacted in going straight from the club into the county and I don’t think anyone got a chance to reset and refocus.
“If we had have got that time, you never know what way the outcome would have gone but there’s no doubting it was a poor attempt.
“We’re not the first team to fall at the back-to-back.
“You can probably trace it to the club game and club teams going back-to-back at that level.
“Maybe we get a bit too high when we’re up but some Tyrone team is going to crack it so we’ll see.”
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