Injured Tommy Conroy wants Sigerson protected amid scheduling issues

Tommy Conroy admits it took him time to come to terms with a cruciate knee injury which will keep him out of the Mayo jersey for the rest of 2022.

The injury happened while he was playing in a Sigerson Cup game for NUIG in early February, and he's unlikely to be back on the field until Autumn at the earliest.

The Green and Red begin the defence of their Connacht title this Sunday against Galway - a game you can see live on RTÉ2 and the RTÉ Player - but Conroy will have to watch it from the stands at Hastings MacHale Park.

"Definitely very difficult," he says of missing some big fixtures.

"There are moments in the games where you're watching, and you really want to contribute, and really want to be involved. It's definitely difficult, and I still find it difficult to watch.

"I wouldn't be the best onlooker. The first few games, I didn't really enjoy even going to them. I didn't go to all the National League games.

"I've become a bit more positive at this stage, and have come to terms with it a bit better. Big game on Sunday, back in MacHale Park, full crowd - that won't be the easiest thing. I'm still there for my team-mates. I'll be wishing them well.

"I've been very lucky. Never pulled a muscle or broke a bone. This was the first major one. I've had slight issues before, and been out for three or four weeks. That was off-season so it didn't affect games.

"To be honest, that I can remember, I'd never really missed a major game so it was very new to me. It was something I had to come to terms with and it definitely took time to come to terms with. I think I'm dealing with it as good as I can."

The injury happened in a busy period for the Neale clubman.

Off the back of Mayo's run to the All-Ireland final, he was involved with his