Derry waiting on the fitness of Murray ahead of Meath visit

DERRY forward Lachlan Murray remains a doubt for Saturday’s All-Ireland SFC clash with Meath at Find Insurance Celtic Park.

The Desertmartin man pulled up after kicking his second point in Derry’s recent defeat to Armagh.

Speaking after the game, manager Ciarán Meenagh said it was a dead leg that forced him out of the action.

His availability would be a massive boost to the Oakleafers’ chances this weekend.

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With his direct running, he has amassed 4-24 in league and championship this season. He has 62 senior appearances to his name.

Murray was a late withdrawal ahead of Derry’s league defeat to Meath back in January and also sat out the victory over Offaly.

“He got a bad dead leg in the first half (against Armagh) so we just have to see,” Martin Boyle told Gaelic Life.

Boyle is part of Meenagh’s management and was Murray’s manager at minor level when Derry won the 2020 All-Ireland title.

“With dead legs, you just never know, so it’s very much a case of wait and see.”

Patrick McGurk and Matthew Downey – both part of that same All-Ireland-winning minor team under Boyle – were due back in training over the weekend.

The other recent boost has been goalkeeper Odhrán Lynch’s return to club action, but he didn’t feature in Magherafelt’s defeat to Loup on Sunday.

Looking ahead to the Meath game, Boyle knows what to expect but is happy the Oakleafers have home advantage.

“It’s a brilliant challenge, it’s a brilliant game and we’re delighted to be at home in Celtic Park,” he said.

“Meath are obviously a top-level team and had promotion to Division One.

“They’ll be disappointed obviously with their Leinster campaign and obviously losing to Cork (in the All-Ireland series).

“They’re a serious team – they’ve a lot of scoring threats and we’ve a bit of experience of them from their first game of the league this year.

“There’s a lot to look forward to and there’s a lot to be positive about. Hopefully that’ll reinvigorate our boys to raise the pitch of their performance and no doubt it will.”

Check out GaelicLife.com this week for more Derry v Meath buildup and all the coverage of the All-Ireland SFC.