Loss of Donal Óg Hodnett is big blow to Skibbereen

BY SEÁN HOLLAND

DONAL Óg Hodnett’s absence through injury for the upcoming county senior A football championship is a significant blow to O’Donovan Rossa’s title ambitions.

The unlucky Skibbereen talisman was just back from the hamstring injury that sidelined him during the 2023 county championship when he suffered a cruciate ligament injury in a county league game against Clyda Rovers in late May. It’s his second ACL injury after missing the bulk of the 2019 campaign too.

‘Donal Óg is probably the unluckiest player around,’ O’Donovan Rossa manager Gene O’Donovan admitted, as he plans for their Group A opener against Fermoy this Saturday at 5.30pm in Bandon. Also in the group are neighbours Dohenys and Kanturk.

‘He hurt his hamstring last year against Kanturk in the second round. It was a fairly serious injury too. In fairness to him, he did the rehab and everything and returned this year only to do his cruciate in his first game back, 20 minutes into the game.’

The Rossas manager highlighted the broader implications of former Cork footballer Hodnett's absence, particularly on the younger players who would look to him for guidance.

‘He was heartbroken with it being so close to the other injury. He would be the spiritual leader there as well. Especially with so many young players coming into our squad at the moment, he would be one that they'd look up to,’ O’Donovan said.

‘He's still around though, he actually originally came in as a selector with me as well anyway. He's still involved with us in that side of things, but unfortunately not on the pitch,’ added O’Donovan.

Not only will the Skibbereen footballers have to go without their star forward, but influential midfielder Jamie Shanahan is also unavailable.

‘Jamie has damaged ankle ligaments. We only got Jamie back there last year from rugby and he had an unbelievable season for us. Hand on heart, I think he was one of the best midfielders in the A grade last season. He has a big engine in the middle of the field, so he’s a big loss,’ O’Donovan admitted.

Despite the injury setbacks, Skibb boss O’Donovan remains unwavering in his expectations for his squad's effort and commitment. The team's resilience and depth are being tested, yet the belief in the players' readiness to step up remains strong.

‘The way I look at it,’ O’Donovan said, ‘we still have 15 lads wearing the Skibb jersey, waiting to get a shot on Saturday. Then hopefully another two or three lads are willing to come on and do a job as well.’

Despite facing numerous challenges, O’Donovan Rossa are determined to make their presence felt in this year's championship. Last season they were unlucky not to progress from the group stage after winning two of their three games.

‘Since I went back in charge of Skibb three years ago, our philosophy has been very simple: it's one game at a time. We just focus on one game at a time and then see where that takes us,’ O’Donovan explained.

‘We knew last year, going in against Fermoy, we needed to win and it's as simple as that. I think the format brought in by the county board is really making it a much stronger championship. No one's going to get an easy game. There's no easy target in any game you play.’