Tyrone midfielder Padraig McNulty will miss the remainder of the season and faces a race to be fit in time for the 2023 Allianz Football League after undergoing a second operation following complications in his recovery from a broken arm.
The Dungannon ace sustained the injury while playing for the Red Hands during February’s Division One defeat to Donegal in Ballybofey.
The injury ended his involvement at county level and McNulty didn’t feature for the Clarke’s in their All-County League campaign bar a late cameo in their last game against Loughmacrory.
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However, there were suggestions he could feature against Trillick in the Championship after he was surprisingly listed among the subs for last month’s first round tie in Healy Park.
Yet, Dungannon manager Chris Rafferty revealed that, no sooner had McNulty been named in the squad, he was told he’d need a second operation.
“Unfortunately for Padraig, the bone didn’t heal in the manner in which the surgeons were happy with. He had a second operation last week and we understand that it has been a success,” said Rafferty.
“That means he has another six-to-nine months of recovery to go through so he’ll not feature again this year.
“It has been very difficult for him. The information we received going into the game was that he wasn’t an option.
“Then we were told he might be an option, but on the eve of the game we were told it would be better if he didn’t play.
"It wasn’t as though we were playing mind games. We listed him on the programme, but that goes in three or four days beforehand.
“We knew before the game that it wasn’t a goer and we weren’t prepared to risk him at any time.
“He’d played a few challenge games and he had been long enough away from the group. We felt he owed it to him to give him every chance of making it.
“He is a very determined young man and he leads from the front. He is held in the highest esteem in the club. We are a very tight group and Paudi is still very much a part of the squad.”
Even without McNulty, the Clarke’s were able to get the better of Trillick in the first round, despite a somewhat disjointed performance in what was a repeat of the famous 2020 decider when Dungannon clinched the O’Neill Cup after a penalty shoot-out.
Rafferty’s side didn’t score for the first 20 minutes, but found themselves ahead at the break thanks to goals from Dalaigh Jones and Patrick Quinn.
Trillick rallied after the break, but a third goal from defender Darragh Skeffington helped Dungannon claim a 3-8 to 0-11 victory.
“We were very slow out of the blocks and we’re not entirely certain why,” reflected Rafferty.
“It could have been as simple as stage fright. I thought Trillick were very good in the first half and they just didn’t maximise the opportunities they created.
“Generally speaking, every team will have a period of dominance. The secret is to maximise your period. We got two goals very much against the run of play and that gave us a bit of comfort going in at half-time.
"We didn’t think we’d play as badly in the second half and that gave us a platform to build on.
“In our recent history, 2020 aside, we don’t have a fantastic record of getting past the first round.
“Our entire focus was just about getting through the first round. Even when we won it in 2020, we went to extra-time in the first round against Loughmacrory. We needed a last-minute point in normal time to bring us to extra-time.
“Collie Holmes always says there are two emotions in management - devastation and relief.
“We were relieved to get through to the next round.”
The day after the win over Trillick, Rafferty and Holmes made their way to Galbally to watch Errigal Ciaran battle back from seven points down against the Moy to clinch a quarter-final berth with five points to spare.
This Sunday’s meeting between Errigal and Dungannon at Carrickmore (3.45pm) is, arguably, the pick of the Tyrone SFC quarter-finals as the Dunmoyle men seek to carry the burden of favouritism once more.
It is 10 years since Errigal last won a county title but, with Ruairi and Darragh Canavan in their ranks along with Peter Harte, they’ve an abundance of attacking talent and Rafferty was impressed by their comeback victory against the Moy.
“I thought the Moy came with a definite game plan and they were very difficult to break down,” said Rafferty.
“Errigal were playing up the hill at Galbally in the first half and the Moy were very good at picking them off.
“In the second half, Errigal brought on Ruairi Canavan and Mark Kavanagh and they were superb. They dominated the midfield and their scoring was outstanding.
“For the last five or six years, I think Errigal Ciaran have started as favourites. For one reason or another, they just haven’t got over the line.
“In order to win, the stars have to align and you have to have that element of luck. That probably has abandoned them two or three times over the last number of years.
“Anytime anybody talks about the Tyrone Championship, Errigal are one of the first two teams mentioned on people’s list of favourites.”
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