Armagh sweating on fitness of key players

Armagh are sweating on the fitness of a number of key players ahead of Sunday’s Ulster final with reigning champions Derry.

Kieran McGeeney’s men ended a 15-year wait to reach the decider when they overcame Down by ten points in the semi-final.

But it came at a cost as three key players, Ben Crealey, Ciaran Mackin and Andrew Murnin were all removed from the action before the final whistle.

Crealey missed the entire National League campaign through injury, but started all three of Armagh’s championship games against Antrim, Cavan and Down.

All three are expected to feature on Sunday and if available, will offer Armagh a greater chance of getting their hands on the Anglo Celt.

As reported by Gaelic Life on Tuesday, Niall Grimley is set to miss out the remainder of the championship campaign.

Grimley picked up a knee injury at a recent training session that will keep him out of action for the next 10-12 weeks.

Tiernan Kelly likewise is expected to miss out on the remainder of the county season through injury.

Defensively, Armagh have some concerns as well in the form of James Morgan and Barry McCambridge.

Morgan missed Armagh’s entire Division One campaign but returned to the starting line up for their preliminary round clash with Antrim.

The Crossmaglen defender subsequently pulled up at training and didn’t feature against Cavan but was an unused sub against Down.

McCambridge was one of the finds of the league, but picked up a knock during the warm-up before the Cavan game and was also an unused sub in the semi-final.