COLM MCFADDEN is poised for a return to the Donegal squad for Saturday night’s Allianz Football League Division 1 clash against Dublin.
The St Michael’s man made the last of his 168 Donegal appearances in the 2015 All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Mayo in August.
A slight calf injury had halted McFadden’s early-season progress in training, but the experienced forward is ready for inclusion this weekend having taken a full part in training last night.
In 2015, McFadden made his first start of the year in the final game of the regulation League season against Mayo in Castelbar and Donegal manager Rory Gallagher was keen to time his 2016 return for a similar stage.
“Colm has joined in and hopefully we’ll get him some game time at a stage on Satyrday – he did a good football session last night and he’s 100 per cent,” Gallagher told Donegal Sport Hub.
“Colm is a bit short of match practice, but he’ll get up to the levels of that quite quickly.
“Last year, he had a terrific run of it. We took him into the team for the last League game against Mayo and played him in a different role. He had a very good year in that role, one he had played in with his club.
“Colm has been a wee bit unfortunate this year with the injury, but he’s good a good level of fitness and now, ten weeks out from the Championship, is a good time to be integrating him back in.
“One thing that Colm has is a savage hunger for the game.”
Donegal will be without Frank McGlynn for Saturday’s game against the All-Ireland champions. The Glenfin man is nursing a hamstring injury and missed the games against Kerry and Roscommon.
Neil Gallagher sat out Glenswilly’s All-County Football League opener with Ardara on Sunday after feeling ‘a tightness in his back’ but the midfielder should feature this weekend.
Full-back Neil could also line out against the Dubs. The Gaoth Dobhair man’s appeal against the one-game suspension proposed by the Central Competitions Controls Committee (CCCC) has been withdrawn.
McGee had the ban proposed after an incident in the game against Kerry where he was seen pulling the hand of Alan Fitzgerald, the Kerry player. Fitzgerald was subsequently sent off for striking McGee.
Had McGee – who sustained a broken nose – continued with the appeal and been unsuccessful he would have missed this weekend’s game, although the Donegal County Board are proceeding with their appeal against the €7,500 fine that was handed down following the ugly incidents in Tralee.
Eoghan Ban Gallagher looks set to retain his place in the half-back line. The Killybegs man started for the first time against Kerry and retained his berth for the Roscommon game, while he starred for the Donegal Under-21s last week in their Ulster Championship win over Derry.
The Donegal manager said: “Eoghan Ban has really moved up a gear. We feel that he’s a player with a lot of talent. He has acquitted himself well and settled in very well.
“He is very much part of the plans now. For the Under-21s, he was excellent when they were going well and when they needed him he really stood up to be counted.”
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