Despair as McKiernan ruled out for the season

Paul Fitzpatrick

Cavan seniors have suffered a huge blow with the news that star midfielder Gearoid McKiernan has suffered a cruciate ligament injury and will miss the remainder of the season.

The 6ft 3in midfielder sustained the injury in an All County Football League match with his club Swanlinbar against Cornafean last Sunday and the bad news was confirmed after a scan on Tuesday.

McKiernan had been an ever-present for the blues during their nine McKenna Cup and NFL Division 3 matches this season, scoring heavily from midfield.

He was widely expected to be named as captain for the visit of Armagh in the Ulster SFC preliminary round on May 19.

McKiernan underwent a scan in the Santry Sports Injury Clinic on Monday morning and received the results on Tuesday, confirmed county board PRO Declan Woods.

“As with any player,our thoughts are with him and we're fully focused on helping him in whatever way we can,” stated Woods.

“But, this is a severe injury and the reality of it is that it will be 2014 before we see Gearoid in a Cavan or Swanlinbar jersey again.

“Everybody holds him in enormous esteem and we are all gutted for him, we know the sacrifices he makes to be the player he is and it's a personal tragedy for him. It's a huge blow to everybody but the squad are a resilient bunch and they will work as hard as they can towards the Armagh game now.”