Rochford: Keegan will be given all the time he needs

Mayo GAA assistant manager Stephen Rochford has said that star defender Lee Keegan will be given all the time required to decide whether or not to return to inter-county football in the 2023 season.

Speculation around the 33-year-old's future has been rife since Mayo's season came to an end with an All-Ireland quarter-final loss to Kerry in June, with the 2016 Footballer of the Year telling the Inside The Line podcast last month that he has a "lot of big questions" to answer before he met new manager Kevin McStay.

Rochford indicated that there would be no immediate pressure from their end with the Westport man not present as the panel got together in recent weeks for training ahead of the forthcoming campaign.

"Things haven’t changed from what has already been said and what Lee has said himself," said Rochford, who was speaking at AIB’s Goal Mile challenge launch.

"We’re more than happy to give Lee that space to allow the mind and body to recuperate. He had a bit of an injury playing through the inter-county and club championship, so we’re affording him that bit of down time.

"We’ll look to talk with Lee closer to Christmas or early in the new year in regards to his plans for 2023. I really hope that he is part of our squad for the year ahead. He has a lot to offer and as he’s shown in only the past year, he still has a lot to offer."

Rochford also said that they pitched hard to convince Oisín Mullin to turn down the allure of Australian Rules Football for a second time, but in the end the pull of the professional sport was too much.

The two-time Young Footballer of the Year had originally agreed to join Geelong in late 2021 before having a change of heart and remaining with Mayo. However, the Cats returned with an offer and he