Injury doubts ahead of Doctor’s appointment

Cavan's Dr McKenna Cup preparations remain hampered by injuries despite last week's unexpected rest. Terry Hyland and co-manager Val Andrews had anticipated they would be entering this Saturday's clash against Derry with one competitive game already under their belt, but the icy weather put pay to last week's opener against QUB. The prospect of eight days' rest and recuperation for Cavan's trio of injury worries offered a slim silver lining to the postponement. However it appears a week may not be long enough for those injured during a recent challenge match against Leitrim to recover sufficiently to tog out against the Oak Leaf County. “John [McCutcheon] is still looking doubtful,†Hyland told the The Anglo Celt. “He got a bad bang on the shoulder in the Leitrim game. Fintan Reilly probably won't be available either. Ray Cullivan has a quad strain as well. Whether they will be back or not [to face Derry] I don't know.†Hyland described the injuries to Cullivan and Reilly as “short term†however McCutcheon's shoulder is causing greater concern. Hyland fears “it could be more long term†although at the time of writing, a proper assessment had yet to be made. The team to face Derry will be announced on Thursday night. Given Derry's opening game was also a casualty of the weather, there are few clues to how they will line-out, one certainty though is they will provide tough opposition to a relatively slight Cavan squad. “The atmosphere [in the Cavan squad] is good,†he said. “We're eager to get started. We have a few new faces in and we want to get them slotted in to see how they are coming along. “It is not going to be an easy game for us. It's our first competitive game. A lot will depend on how we react on the evening and the weather conditions. We're not a very big team so hopefully it won't be a wet, wintery type of an evening. We tend to work more on our mobility than anything else.†Hyland isn't ruling out Cavan adding to their haul of 11 Dr McKenna Cups, however he is determined to adopt a level-headed, long term approach. He's keen to stress the importance of that one virtue which GAA fans across the country are notoriously devoid of, patience. “I like win to anything and everything I can,†assured Hyland. “Now in saying that we would be experimenting and we would be playing newcomers along with some experienced players,†he continued. “It's going to take a year to bed fellas in and get a style of play that suits the players we have. We have to give them time to bed in, rather than shifting them about because people are saying ‘This fella's not good enough, this fella's not good enough'. We need to settle and see where we are come the end of the year.†In the cold wintery light of January 2011, before a single size five O'Neill's has been kicked, it is easy for fans to be objective and accept that for young players to reach their full potential they must have time to grow into their roles, to make mistakes, gain experience, and to knit together as a unit. It's quite another if results aren't going their way as spring turns to summer. If ever there was a management team which might enjoy a protracted period of grace in order to rebuild it surely has to be this Cavan team. The low expectation on Cavan given the disappointments of 2010, is likely to have persuaded even the most impatient Blue that the Breffni renaissance is a long term job. However, Hyland is hopeful that any progress will be enjoyed in front of a sizeable crowd and is encouraging everyone to come out to support the team this weekend. “At the end of the day they're supporting their own. The team are all players from their own clubs throughout the county. So if you don't come to support your own, who are you going to support?â€