O'Keeffe won't be part of Fitzgerald's Déise plans

All-Star goalkeeper Stephen O'Keeffe has rejected Davy Fitzgerald's invitation to return to the Waterford senior hurling panel for 2023.

Earlier this month Fitzgerald confirmed he had asked O'Keeffe to come back on board and was awaiting his decision.

O'Keeffe hasn't played for the county since the 2020 All-Ireland SHC final defeat to Limerick.

However, speaking at the WLR Granville Hotel GAA Awards, the Ballygunner netminder confirmed he will not be making a U-turn.

"I've given it a good decade of my life, playing with Waterford," he said. "I absolutely loved it. I've made friends for life," reported the Waterford News and Star.

"I remember beating Cork in an All-Ireland semi-final and you knew the result was in hand with five or six minutes to go and the crowd was going wild. Memories that will last me for a lifetime. But I think life moves on for people. Sometimes you just need to put a pin in it."

It's a setback for Fitzgerald who had been hopeful of coaxing the 2017 All Star back into the fold.

"Yeah, I talked to Stephen a while back," the manager said after his team's Munster Hurling League victory over Tipperary.

"We've asked him to rejoin the panel. Whether he does or not, we’ll know in the next few weeks.

"If he does, we’d love to have him, it’d be great. And if he doesn’t, we’ve two good lads [Billy Nolan and Shaun O’Brien] there as well. Obviously, you’re going to ask the best players in Waterford to play."