Ulster U-20 Championship  quarter-final
Donegal v Armagh
Friday, Ballybofey, 8pm

By Shaun Casey

JUST two weeks after being appointed Armagh u-20 captain, Lee Rice picked up a devastating injury in training.

The Killeavy man broke his left leg and will miss the entire Orchard campaign but hopes to feature for his club later in the year.

“I’ll be looking to start running in July, but the oxygen chambers will speed up that process of the bone re-healing so I’m looking to get the tail end of the (club) championship,” he said.

“Even if I’m in the squad, it doesn’t matter about playing, I just want to get back out on the field and join the lads.

“My main focus right now is keeping myself fit and making sure the boys in Armagh get over the line and make sure they’re positive. I just want to be there for the boys more so than myself.

“I’m just staying positive at the moment. There’s been one or two bad days where I’ve been annoyed but sure the main thing is to keep positive.”

The ‘dream team’ management of Barry O’Hagan and Oisin McConville took over this year after Peter McDonnell stepped down following last season’s defeat to Donegal.

“Barry and Oisin keep telling me this is part of football and I’ve a big career ahead of myself and I know I’ll come back stronger, fitter and faster,” Rice continued.

“They’re literally the dream team. They just know what they’re talking about and every time they talk, we listen. You know who they are, you know what they’ve done and what they’ve achieved.

“They’re good for motivation and inspiration as well as their coaching. They have improved many, many boys in these couple of months they’ve taken us and it’s working out very well so far.”

Rice has been with the same group through the development squads, the county minors and now the u-20s and the team has built a strong bond.

“It’s the tightest group I’ve ever been a part of in Armagh, it’s the tightest group we’ve ever had. The training is just out of this world and the intensity is massive, the expectations are just what you want.

“I remember the very first time we met and the goal straight away was, we’re here to win Ulster and All-Ireland, we’re not here just to dally about. We got the Development League; it was better than last year when we only got the one game. We’ve got three games, lost two and won one, but it’s just good to get them games and there’s stuff to work on to find out identity and we’ve found it.

“We’re ready to go and the boys are raring to go in training. You can see the morale, it’s just all surrounding that day.”

A trip to Ballybofey is nothing new for Rice and his teammates as they seek revenge for last season’s loss in the same venue.

“This is my fourth year going up to Ballybofey in a row, but you want to play the best. They’re going out with the expectation of winning Ulster, and they won their development league comfortably, so it’ll be a good test.”

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