*Darragh Bohannon. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill.
DARRAGH BOHANNON’s frustrating year with injury is unfortunately continuing with the Clare midfielder suffering a setback on his road to recovery this week.
Clare’s senior footballers trained in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg on the morning of Bank Holiday Monday ahead of Saturday’s Tailteann Cup clash with Offaly at the same venue at 16:00.
Regrettably the training session saw Bohannon sustain damage to his hamstring which has hindered his involvement with the county seniors for the bulk of this season.
He was introduced for the final ten minutes of Clare’s eight point Munster semi-final loss to Kerry, his issues with a hamstring injury from earlier in the season curtailing his involvement to the appearance from the bench.
It was in February when Darragh first suffered the hamstring injury, he was forced off after fifteen minutes in Clare’s third round of the Allianz National Football League in Brewster Park, a game which also turned out to be their first victory. On the same day, captain Cillian Rouine was forced off with a hamstring injury in what was his first appearance of the year, the Ennistymon defender has since recovered and will lead the side from centre back this weekend.
Bohannon’s recovery has been less plain sailing and while he managed to make the twenty six for the Kerry tie, he is not out of the equation for this weekend after damaging the hamstring once again. He returned to the county panel this year and his presence has been a big lift in the middle of the park, he had been travelling for Peter Keane’s sole season in charge of the Clare footballers.
At the age of seventeen, Darragh joined the Clare senior football panel in 2016 following the county’s exit to Waterford in the Munster minor semi-final, he had captained the county to win the Daryl Darcy Cup a year previous.
In 2017, the Shannon Gaels clubman was handed his senior championship debut as Clare defeated Laois 2-18 0-14 in the qualifiers, he replaced Cratloe’s Seán Collins on sixty eight minutes.
A first championship start arrived in May 2019 when he partnered then captain Gary Brennan in midfield for Clare’s 0-9 0-8 Munster semi-final win over Waterford.
Paul Madden and the Clare management are now without five very experienced players for Saturday’s tie with Eoin Cleary, Dermot Coughlan, Stephen Ryan and Emmet McMahon also out of the equation.
