Christy Toye, Rory Kavanagh, David Walsh call time on Donegal careers

Christy Toye has scored five Championship goals at Croke Park

Christy Toye, Rory Kavanagh and David Walsh have called time on their inter-county football careers with Donegal.

The trio were part of Donegal's 2012 All-Ireland winning squad and all three collected three Ulster Senior titles.

Toye, 33, was Donegal's longest serving player, having made his debut in 2002, but has suffered from injury and illness in recent years.

Midfielder Kavanagh, 34, left the squad after the 2014 All-Ireland final but decided to return after a year out.

Rory Kavanagh announced his return to the Donegal squad in January 2016

Toye suffered a ruptured Achilles in a qualifier against Clare in 2009 and did not play again for Donegal for 25 months, enduring setback after setback.

A shoulder problem and a recurrence of the Achilles strain meant the Naomh Micheal clubman was never a regular starter during the tenure of former manager Jim McGuinness.

Toye played the last 13 minutes of Donegal's All-Ireland final victory but then contracted trigeminal neuralgia.

He was confined to a bench role for much of the 2016 summer campaign.

Meanwhile Anthony Thompson has joined Odhrán MacNiallais and Naomh Conaill clubmate Leo McLoone in opting out of the Donegal panel.

The 2012 All-Ireland winner and All Star nominee is unable to commit to the side for personal reasons but, unlike MacNiallais and McLoone, may rejoin Rory Gallagher's squad at a later stage of the Football League.

Thirty-year-old wing-back/half-forward Thompson works as an engineer and spent most of the 2015 season travelling back and forth between Donegal and Essex, England.

Gweedore player MacNiallais is "taking a year out" from Rory Gallagher's squad, while McLoone confirmed before Christmas that he had opted out of the panel for this year.