ON SEPTEMBER 4, Michael Fennelly took his seat among the Kilkenny substitutes in the Hogan Stand. In front of him, he watched Tipperary wipe the Cats out after half-time to deny the Leinster champions a third-straight title.<\/p>\n
\n Source: James Crombie\/INPHO<\/p>\n
\u201cIt just wasn\u2019t a good day,\u201d Fennelly recalls. \u201cThere was a sensation of feeling lost and just not being part of it, and that was it really. You couldn\u2019t offer anything on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old had been in superb form for the Cats when he ruptured his Achilles tendon in the replay against Waterford. It ruled him out of action for an extended period, and robbed Kilkenny of their most dynamic midfielder.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they said it looks like there was a need for a scan and I was gone. That hit home alright, that my year was gone. That was tough. Every year I go out, I try and play every game, try and not get injured but it always seems to come at me and I miss some sort of game. So that was tough, mentally.\u201d<\/p>\n
So he sat there helpless, as the Premier ran riot en route to their first All-Ireland victory in six years. He particularly felt the pain of defeat in the days after, when the players had to fulfill the post-All-Ireland formalities.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re just a supporter on the day. It\u2019s not enjoyable.\u00a0And I was dreading the next day and the day after, on the crutches, with a cast. I\u2019d rather have gone home, to be honest, on the\u00a0Monday\u00a0morning. But I hung around with the players. We did what we had to with the homecoming.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t playing, so it wasn\u2019t as bad for me as some of the lads that played. Some lads didn\u2019t play to their potential were upset about it. Whereas for me, I didn\u2019t play, so I had no real feeling with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n Source: Donall Farmer\/INPHO<\/p>\n
If everything goes to plan, Fennelly expects to return to the field by next May. A long road lies ahead. A lecturer in sports science, the Ballyhale Shamrocks man has a philosophical outlook on the recovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time you get a serious injury like that, you have to re-look at things, re-analyse. Where I am at the moment, this has to come back right either way, whether I come back hurling or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m staying positive. Hopefully get back in the jersey. There is no point doubting myself.\u00a0You have to be positive and optimistic about these things.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019ve done it before so it\u2019s nothing strange to me to do this. I\u2019m intrinsically motivated to do it. If someone wasn\u2019t motivated, they\u2019re not going to do it, simple as that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The thing is, Kilkenny need Fennelly back in the saddle. When Tipperary annexed their last All-Ireland in 2010, the Cats bounced back and won the next two. There\u2019s far less optimism surrounding their ability to return to the top in the short-term.<\/p>\n
\u201cI suppose there\u2019s a huge difference with our 2011 team and now, with all those big names gone. We have players coming in and filling their boots but it\u2019ll never be the same obviously because they were top-class in the country hurlers. Henry (Shefflin), Tommy (Walsh), JJ (Delaney), you\u2019d never come across them lads really for another couple of years or decade or two.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we have lads coming up. We have some nice players that haven\u2019t been on the panel this year but I think could be brought in maybe next year. We probably need a bit of fresh blood coming in and pushing lads like me, and the older lads like Richie Hogan and TJ. They\u2019re all now in their late twenties and we need players pushing them..<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the fact that we won \u201914 and \u201915 and we\u2019ve won an awful lot over the last 10 years and maybe people are like, \u2018look, this team has to come to a finish at some stage\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously we don\u2019t think that ourselves, but I think it\u2019s only natural. What people say or think doesn\u2019t really come into our perspective. We\u2019re a team and we have goals that we set for ourselves. That\u2019s all that matters. It doesn\u2019t matter if people in our own county don\u2019t think we\u2019re strong enough. It\u2019s what we think I suppose.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n Source: Morgan Treacy\/INPHO<\/p>\n
For now, Fennelly will put down a hard few months rehabing his Achilles. They\u2019ll likely face Davy Fitzgerald\u2019s Wexford in the Leinster semi-finals, a tie Fennelly hopes to play some part in.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt looks like Wexford could be coming our direction from the draw. Davy is heading down that direction now to get the boys going down there. Any time we play Wexford it\u2019s always a helter-belter game.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny team that comes our way, it\u2019s always going to be a tough test, that\u2019s the way I look at it. We\u2019ll look after ourselves, that\u2019s key for us and see from there.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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