McKeever hopeful over McAleese involvement

PORTGLENONE manager John McKeever is hopeful Dermot McAleese can make a return from injury ahead of Sunday’s final showdown with Cargin.

McAleese was replaced at half-time in their semi-final over Lámh Dhearg with a hamstring injury and faces a race to feature in the club’s first senior final since 2009.

Portglenone, who won the league last season, ended a run of five semi-final defeats and now face a Cargin team going for an eighth title in a decade. McAleese is the only Portglenone concern as they report close to a full hand.

“He has a hamstring injury which would probably be a three-week injury, but we would be obviously trying to get him back in two weeks,” McKeever told Gaelic Life.

“The thing about Dermot McAleese is…he has had injuries in the past.

“He gets a timescale for them and Dermot is always back way before the time (he’d due) to be back.

“He’ll do everything he can in terms of his rehab and he’s so disciplined. I would be surprised if Dermot McAleese doesn’t play.”

McAleese has had his share of injuries. The most recent one saw a jaw injury keep him for most of Antrim’s season before he made a return.

In a squad with an average age of 25, McAleese is a quiet leader and would be a boost for the Casements ahead of their joust with the champions.

All Saints Ballymena manager Liam ‘Baker’ Bradley had to field with county players Kavan Keenan, Conor Stewart and Paddy McAleer in last year’s intermediate final defeat to Glenravel.

They’ve made it back to the final where they bid for a first title since 2011 with close to a full squad.

Keenan, who was named in the Tailteann Cup team the year after his debut season with Antrim, missed Ballymena’s win over St Paul’s.

McAleer and Stewart are back on board with Peter McReynolds – who played in their last winning team in 2011 – back in training.

Bradley has declared Cavan Keenan available for Saturday’s game, a huge boost as they bid to take on St Teresa’s.

“He (Keenan) had an abductor injury,” Bradley said. “He could have played him on Saturday *against St Paul’s) but that was more of a precautionary thing than anything else.

“If we had needed him, we would have used him but, at the end of the day, we didn’t need him. Kavan is available to play for this final.”