Galway midfielder Paul Conroy close to returning from double leg break
Friday 3 May 2019 06:13, UK
Galway midfielder Paul Conroy is nearing a return to action after 10 months out with a double leg break.
Conroy was injured in an accidental collision with Sean O'Shea during the Tribesmen's Super 8s win over Kerry last year, suffering a fractured left fibula and tibia and a hairline fracture in his right fibula.
He received support from Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman, who suffered a similar injury, and has stepped up his training in recent weeks by beginning contact work.
Should Galway overcome London and Sligo, Conroy could make his inter-county return in the Connacht final on June 16.
"I'm back doing a bit of running now and kicking a good bit of football," Conroy told Sky Sports News.
"The next step for me is getting into contact and I've just started that process now. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll be doing a lot more and will get back to full action.
"Have I set a target date? Not particularly, no. Sometimes if you don't make them it can be hard mentally.
"Possibly I'm looking at the end of May or start of June but you can only play it week by week, keep trying to improve and do more in every session. That's what I'm doing at the minute."
Galway begin the defence of their Connacht Championship against London in Ruislip on Sunday.
The Exiles' only provincial win on home soil came in 2013 against Sligo, who were then managed by current Galway boss Kevin Walsh.
So despite Galway winning their previous eight games against London by an average margin of eight points, Conroy says there will no complacency in the camp.
"It's the same with every game, you have to treat every team with the same respect," said Conroy.
"At this level, if you take your eye off the ball, it doesn't matter who you're playing, you're not going to get the result and performance you want."
Galway reached the All-Ireland semi-finals last year, having qualified from the inaugural Super 8s following wins over Kerry and Kildare, and Conroy is targeting a place in the last-eight for the fourth successive year.
"It's a cliché but we have to get over every game, one at a time," he said.
"We're looking at London this week and hopefully pushing on towards the end of the summer, and put yourself in the position where you can compete in the latter stages.
"The first part of that is trying to get to the Super 8s, that's where we'll ultimately want to end up. We'll see how good we are then."
