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Tag Archives: Podge Collins

Podge targeting a spring comeback

CLARE dual player Podge Collins is targeting a return to the football and hurling fields in March or April 2016. The former hurling All-Star snapped his anterior cruciate ligament in late May, playing in a club championship game for Cratloe against Ballyea in Cusack Park. He underwent surgery on July 7 and has since embarked on an intensive recovery programme. Collins subsequently missed the remainder of 2015 with both club and county. “I had it tested last Monday week in Santry. It was to test the power in the knee and they were very happy with how everything went. I’ve been put on a new programme for the next few weeks. Seán O’Meara (physiotherapist) is working very closely with me and it’s great to have him back from Australia. He’s doing great work with me. Everything is positive and I’ve had no setback so far and, hopefully, it’ll keep going in that direction,” Collins told The Clare Champion this week. …

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Podge poised for hurling return

PODGE Collins is on his way back to the Clare senior hurling panel for 2016, but he will also remain with the county footballers. Manager, Davy Fitzgerald has refused to confirm or deny that the Cratloe man, who is currently recovering from a cruciate knee ligament injury, is about to rejoin the hurling panel but The Clare Champion has learned this is the position. “No comment” was the manager’s response, when asked about this and about speculation as to who has been let go from the panel, which is expected to begin training next month. Collins, one of the stars of the 2013 All-Ireland success, after which he was honoured as an All-Star and was shortlisted for the Hurler Of The Year award, was omitted from the hurling panel last year, after the management opted not to include any dual players. The return of Collins to the hurling panel, while still being available to the senior football side – which …

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Fighting for quarter-final places

Attendances at hurling and football championship games to date have, for the most part, been disappointing but an improvement is expected this weekend as it gets to the business end of the season. Four quarter-final places remain to be filled in both the senior and intermediate hurling. While there is much to look forward to in each of the four senior games, the clash of neighbours Inagh-Kilnamona and Kilmaley on Saturday evening is expected to be the top attraction. At whatever grade these clubs have played each other over the years, they have rarely failed to provide plenty of talking points. They have both had a lot of success at underage levels and this is particularly true of Kilmaley, who have won minor A and U-21 A titles in recent years. Many of the players who featured in those wins are now filling key roles at senior level. Champions Cratloe know there are no second chances from here on. Already …

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July 7 surgery date for Podge

PODGE Collins will undergo surgery on his snapped anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on Tuesday, July 7. The 2013 All-Ireland winner, All-Star and hurler of the year nominee injured his cruciate last Saturday evening, playing championship hurling for Cratloe against Ballyea. Speaking to The Clare Champion, the AIB employee said it is far too early to speculate on a possible return date. “I’ll be getting the surgery done on July 7,” Podge confirmed. “They have to take muscle from some other part of my leg and that’s how the surgery is done. The ACL is completely snapped. After the surgery I’ll be assessed after three, six and nine months,” he explained. “You’re expected to be back, after the surgery, somewhere between six to nine months but some players take longer than nine months. It’s all relevant to each person, how bad the injury is and how well the surgery goes. There are a lot of variables. I won’t be able to …

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Double whammy for Clare footballers

Clare senior football manager Colm Collins received a double whammy at the weekend with news that both Podge Collins and Martin O’Leary will be injury absentees for the county’s Munster senior football semi-final clash with Cork the weekend after next. Podge Collins was forced to retire 15 minutes into Cratloe’s opening game defence of the Canon Hamilton Cup against Ballyea on Saturday evening. He sustained a cruciate knee ligament injury and had his worse fears confirmed as regards the seriousness of the injury following a scan in Dublin on Sunday. The 23 year-old talisman had decided to throw in his lot with the Clare footballers this year who are managed by his father Colm. The news is that he may be out for the rest of the season as he faces reconstructive surgery followed by a prolonged period of rehabilitation. Given that scenario it’s unlikely that he will return to competitive action again this year. In fact, Podge Collins had …

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Loughnane adamant that Clare need Podge

DOUBLE All-Ireland winning manager Ger Loughnane is adamant that it’s not too late for Podge Collins to play hurling for Clare before the end of the 2015 campaign. The Sunday Game analyst says that people he meets outside of Clare are “flabbergasted” that the 2013 All-Star and hurler of the year nominee isn’t hurling for the county this year. Collins, who is on the county football team, is available and willing to play hurling for Clare but hurling manager, Davy Fitzgerald has ruled out players fulfilling a dual role. Loughnane also told The Clare Champion that this Clare team must win a second All-Ireland to dispel the belief that they are on the slide and to salvage their “long-term reputations”. Clare didn’t win a championship match in 2014 and were relegated to Division 1B earlier this year, having won just one game from six. Loughnane also bemoaned the absence of Colm Galvin, who has emigrated to the US and believes …

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Clare well beaten by Tipperary in Thurles

Tipperary 2-11 Clare 1-8 CLARE’S chances of involving themselves in the contest for promotion to division 2 suffered a big setback in Thurles on Saturday afternoon when they fell to Tipperary, who now join Clare on four points from four games. Once Tipperary scored their first half goal Clare never looked likely to push the county county and the nearest they came to them was four points, six minutes from full-time. In a display which had echoes of their first half performance against Sligo, Clare simply gave the ball away too often when they went into contact. Tipperary were also more adept at funelling back and then breaking forward at pace. Tipperary led 1-5 to 0-4 at half time with Conor Sweeney netting in the 11th minute. Liam Casey delivered a long ball, which Sweeney flicked to the net as he was challenged by Gordon Kelly. Michael Quinlivan, who went off with a hamstring injury in the opening half and …

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Don’t rule out a Munster double

It may not have got too much mention in Cratloe during 2014, but GAA fans across the county regularly talked about their prospects of winning the double. While all recognised the club had the talent to be in the shake-up for both titles, not all believed it would happen. In football, Éire Óg had improved with each game from round one, when they lost to the titleholders and many going into Sunday’s final favoured a Townie win. Cratloe said the Ennis men would be difficult to beat. In fact, manager Colm Collins predicted, after the opening round, that the Townies “will have a big say in the destination of this title”. Can Cratloe now win the double in Munster? To achieve it, five victories will be needed – three in hurling and two in football. The hurlers are first into action with a trip to Waterford on Sunday week to play Ballygunner. The winners of that tie will play the …

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