Stephen Cluxton return unlikely as Dessie Farrell confirms goalkeeper will not be involved with Dublin in 2022
Dessie Farrell has confirmed that Stephen Cluxton will not be returning to the Dublin panel in 2022: "No fanfare, no official announcements from him in that regards but Stephen won't be involved this year. And I think out of respect to him, we need to let him live his life."
Sunday 9 January 2022 16:16, UK
Dessie Farrell has confirmed that Stephen Cluxton will not be rejoining the Dublin senior football panel in 2022.
The eight-time All-Ireland winning goalkeeper, who did not feature in 2021, has not officially retired from intercounty football.
However, it appears now that the 40-year-old will not be returning.
"Stephen won't be involved this year. He wasn't involved last year. Stephen is not one for big announcements, as you know," Dublin boss Farrell said after Saturday's O'Byrne Cup win over Offaly (via The Irish Independent).
"No fanfare, no official announcements from him in that regards but Stephen won't be involved this year. And I think out of respect to him, we need to let him live his life and we need to do our own thing. We know the position, hopefully everybody else knows it at this stage now."
Cluxton's final appearance came in the 2020 All-Ireland final, as he captained the Sky Blues to a sixth consecutive Sam Maguire Cup triumph.
For the first time since 2015, Dublin are not reigning All-Ireland champions facing into a new season.
They are currently preparing for their National League opener at home to Armagh at the end of January, and will face They will face Louth and Longford in the coming weeks, with the winner of their group progressing to the final.
