A lot of the big hitters in the Senior Championship will be minus a few of their brightest stars this season. Injuries, suspensions and retirements mean some of the best players in the county are sidelined for the rest of the year.
Madden are without their talisman Niall Grimley who is still recovering from a neck injury. Grimley has been Madden’s star man for a number of years and will be a massive miss for the Raparees.
They take on Killeavy and Wayne Kierans’ side are also missing a number of their best players. Ciaron O’Hanlon is out for the rest of the season while Miceal McNamee along with upcoming stars Oisin King and Lee Rice are also injured.
Champs
Tiernan Kelly won’t feature for defeating champions Clann Eireann through suspension while Ryan Owens is still out due to an injury picked up last season. Conor Bell retired following the success of 2021, leaving a huge gap at centerfield for Clann Eireann to fill.
Maghery will be without one of their stalwarts. Two-time championship winner and 2017 club All-Star midfielder James Lavery has also entered retirement. Similarly, Pearse Og have also been hugely affected by retirements.
Chris Rafferty and Gerard Barton stepped away from the Ogs and haven’t featured at all throughout the season. James Freeman has taken a year away from football and the Ogs will miss his attacking threat.
Granemore head into the championship without Jim Short, who’s gone abroad due to work commitments. Dromintee have been without Shane McCoy and Peadar O’Hare through retirements while Niall Courtney is still recovering from an ACL tear at the start of the season.
Clan na Gael will take on Carrickcruppen without Mel Patterson, who’s out with a knee injury. Crossmaglen are minus Oisin O’Neill, who’s been struggling with injury all year while Tony Kernan has retired.
The Rangers take on Silverbridge in the championship opener who are down their experienced full back Brian Murphy. Murphy suffered an ACL injury at the beginning of the season and won’t be back until 2023.
With a lot of the big teams all missing star men, the 2022 club championship could be one of the hardest to call in years.
