All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Just over 50% of Tyrone panel training as Brian Dooher echoes doubts over Kerry game
- Published
Brian Dooher says Tyrone will struggle to field a team against Kerry on 21 August
Brian Dooher says just over 50% of the Tyrone panel are able to train fully, less than two weeks out from their All-Ireland SFC semi-final against Kerry.
The tie was pushed back by six days due to a high volume of Covid-19 cases in the Red Hands' squad but doubts over the new 21 August date remain.
Dooher echoed the view of Tyrone GAA chairman Michael Kerr, that the team may not be able to fulfil the fixture.
"We will struggle still to field a team on Saturday week," said Dooher.
The Tyrone joint-boss says that is the position "given the way the situation stands at the minute", adding that cancellation of the game "is a possibility definitely".
The Ulster Champions requested the fixture be put back by two weeks, with Dooher pointing out that just because a player has recovered from the virus it does not mean he is ready for an immediate return to competitive inter-county football.
The Red Hands are planning to appeal once more for the semi-final to be moved back, with the contest currently set to be played seven days after the first last-four tie between Dublin and Mayo.
Both the scheduled Tyrone v Kerry semi-final and the September 4 final at Croke Park will have 15;00 BST throw-in times the GAA announced on Wednesday.
A number of players are being integrated back into training this week but not training at full capacity, having either suffered from the virus or spent time in isolation having been identified as a close contact.
The former All-Ireland winner, who led the county to their provincial success without joint-manager Feargal Logan who was absent from Croke Park for Covid reasons, remains unsure that the semi-final will take place.
"We'll do our best but our first priority is the welfare of our players and that's what we'll be guided by. We have had concerned parents on about the health of their children on our panel," added Dooher.
"We requested two weeks based on our experience with Covid to date, and knowing that to get players back into panel a fairly significant timeline is needed. All medical evidence points towards that and definitely anything we have seen to date definitely reinforces that."
Withdrawal from semi-final 'a definite possibility'
Tyrone's panel was hit by Covid in the build-up to their Ulster final win over Monaghan, forcing the eventual winners into a number of personnel changes before throw-in.
The rescheduling of the semi-final also means a new date for the final, which is now due to be held on 4 September.
Dooher says it will not be until the middle of next week that Tyrone are able to make a call on their ability to play in the semi-final, and that any decision to pull out of the competition will be made with a heavy heart.
"There's a possibility definitely [that the game will be cancelled]. We'd like to be in a position where we can field a team and give it our best, but at the minute I can't say for certain if that's going to happen," he said.
"It's not a decision we'll take lightly, we'll base it on all the facts we have. How the players react, how they're training.
"We want to fulfil the fixture and we'll do everything we can to do that, but we'll be guided by the health and wellbeing of our players principally and the advice from our medical team.
"I'm not going to force players out and put their long-term health at risk, nobody in Tyrone football wants that. We're looking at long-term, bigger picture here".