By Niall Gartland

AT last the grey skies of uncertainty have receded with the return to collective training and the gratefully received roll-out of league and championship fixtures, and Tyrone captain Mattie Donnelly is buzzing about the prospect of a return to action.

It emerged last week that the Red Hands would begin their Division One North campaign at home to Donegal on Saturday May 15, and Tuesday evening’s eagerly awaited Ulster Championship draw threw up another Healy Park clash – a deliciously appetising quarter-final tie against reigning champions Cavan.

Speaking on Wednesday morning, and nursing a few aches from the previous evening’s training session in Garvaghey – a good thing, he says – Donnelly expressed his considerable relief that the long, long wait for football to return is nearly at an end.

“As I’m sitting here I have a few aches and pains and I couldn’t be happier about it, because it means I’m back out training and competing with lads who are performing at a high level.

“The overriding feeling is one of positivity. We’re back out doing what we missed so dearly, and I have to commend the GAA for what they’ve put in place.

“There’s a lot for club and county footballers to look forward to, so we’re excited and grateful to be back out training.”

It was only two years ago that Tyrone thumped Cavan by 1-20 to 0-7 in a round four Qualifier, but Donnelly knows that they’ll be facing a very different animal in this year’s winner-takes-all championship clash.

First of all, Cavan were still smarting from their Ulster Championship final defeat to Donegal only a week prior when they crumbled against the Red Hands on that particular occasion – and more pertinently, they had an astonishing 2020 season, getting their hands on the coveted Anglo Celt trophy for the first time since 1997.

“The context has completely changed,” notes Donnelly. “They actually had a good year in 2019, but it was the first year of their journey with Mickey Graham, and they took things to another level last year and fulfilled the talent we always knew they had.

“A few of us fell victim to that Cavan team at u-21 level. They’re Ulster champions for a reason, and they’ll be looking to vindicate that further.

“They’re on the crest of a wave, and have the players and subs and one of the best managers in Ireland dictating operations. Mix that in with the confidence they’ll now have and they’re right at the top of Ulster football.”

Every player has had to learn the meaning of the word ‘patience’ over the course of the last 12 months, but Donnelly was already of that mindset as he was still recuperating from a horror hamstring injury when the GAA imposed a blanket ban on all activity last March.

He subsequently played his first game in eight months when lining out for Trillick last July, and he says he never wavered from his determination to make it back into county colours.

“It was definitely challenging for players, but when the first lockdown kicked in I was making my way back from injury and my mindset had possibly already been hardened as a result.

“I’d also built up a fair bit of resilience down the years – something I’ve always learned from football is to never get too high or too low, and I’d made peace with the fact I was going to play for Tyrone again whether normality returned in two months or two years.

“I was determined to be ready for whenever the action returned and I’d plenty of time for reflection in both lockdowns. Playing for Tyrone is very important to me and something I enjoy so I want to give myself the best chance to hold my hand up for selection.”

The initial prognosis was bleak after Donnelly suffered what’s termed a hamstring avulsion – when the tendon completely tears away from the bone – but he stayed positive, followed his rehab to the letter, and was able to play a full part for Tyrone and Trillick when the action returned in the latter half of last year. That said, he doesn’t take his current fitness status for granted.

“You’re never out of the woods completely, different things surface now and then. Going from playing with the club into the intercounty season last year was as a big transition for the body to take.

“All of those things mean you have to constantly monitor it, but I’ve learned to put out any fires thanks to the medical team, the likes of Louis O’Connor and Marty Loughran have been deadly in that regard. I got to do a lot of good body work with the extended break over Christmas and I’m feeling good, touch wood.”

Players will be keen to impress the new management team of Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher with the season set to commence in just a few weeks. There’s a large extended panel vying for places, and those healthy levels of competition should only serve to drive each other on.

“Trying to make sure you stay in the panel is the challenge at the forefront of everyone’s minds, and that can only be a good thing because we all need to be performing at a high level to make the grade with Tyrone. It can only be a good thing when you have everyone with Tyrone’s best intentions at heart, and we’ll see fairly soon how that manifests itself.”