Left, right and centre - Clare's Mr Versatility Aidan McCarthy

After missing the entire championship last year due to a workplace accident, Clare fans welcomed back Aidan McCarthy to Munster action with open arms last Sunday.

The 22-year-old couldn't prevent the Banner from falling to a home defeat to Tipperary, but the Inagh-Kilnamona man carried the fight to the goal-hungry Premier County as much as anyone, finishing with a tally of 1-13.

A free-taker can expect to have decent numbers, but only two-goal Jake Morris scored more from play (1-04) and on another day he would have added a second green flag.

The half-forward line seems to be his environment these days, but manager Brian Lohan has the luxury in knowing that he could put just about any jersey on his back.

"He would comfortably line out in all 15 positions. No bother to him," says former Clare captain and manager Anthony Daly.

Right from his underage days, McCarthy has stood out among his peers.

A reputation built as a fearless and composed number 6 saw him feature in all Clare's senior championship outings in 2020 in the half-back line, plundering a second-half goal in the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Waterford.

After an impressive breakthrough campaign – he made his debut in 2019 in Donal Moloney and Gerry O’Connor’s last year in charge – he moved onto a new level 12 months later, as his industrious displays in the forward division earned him a 2021 Young Player of the Year nomination, an accolade that ultimately went to Kilkenny's Eoin Cody.

Lohan’s ambitions to build on 2021 – Cork ended their interest in both Munster and then the subsequent qualifiers – were scuppered by a lengthy long-term injury list, chief among them McCarthy after breaking a bone between his leg and ankle.

It only added to the sense of 'what might