*Micheál Garry is an injury doubt for Clare. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
CLARE’S senior footballers will have their strongest selection to choose from so far this year for Saturday’s Munster SFC semi-final.
Captain Cillian Brennan and midfielder Darragh Bohannon are both available for selection having missed all seven games in Division 3 of the Allianz National Football League.
Cillian Rouine played the entire seventy minutes against Down in the final round of the league a month ago having overcome a hamstring injury. His younger brother Brendy is back running after a frustrating spell sidelined with a groin problem.
Cooraclare’s Micheál Garry who started all of Clare’s league games at corner back is the main injury doubt. He currently has a groin injury and a decision on his involvement will be made closer to Saturday’s game.
If available Micheál is set to make his championship debut but management could be forced to make a number of positional switches in his absence with Rouine potentially facing a move from the half-back line to corner back in such a scenario. Éire Óg duo Ronan Lanigan and Manus Doherty are expected to be included in the full-back line.
Bohannon is tipped to start in the middle of the park where he will be partnered by Brian McNamara or Gavin Murray.
Emmet McMahon, Dermot Coughlan, Aaron Griffin and Cormac Murray are on course to form part of the Clare attack with Kilmihil’s Ciaran Downes and Joe McGann also battling for inclusion.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Clare manager Mark Fitzgerald outlined, “we’re as fit as we’ve ever been at this stage so we’re looking forward more so than looking back, we’ve looked in detail at the league campaign, while it was successful enough we would have liked another shot at Down to give it another go, we didn’t do ourselves justice in that game. We’re looking forward to it”.
He added, “There’s one or two niggles there but we’re as healthy as we’ve been all year, you will always have one or two niggles but given where we were in November and December we’re in a far better place”.
