McCartan out, Hughes doubtful for clash with Meath

Down’s Danny Hughes

DOWN assistant manager Aidan O’Rourke has confirmed that defender Gerard McCartan has withdrawn from the squad, while he has rated Danny Hughes chances of playing in their All-Ireland quarter-final with Mayo at Croke Park on Saturday as, “Extremely doubtful.”

“Gerard has decided to opt out,” he said. “He was injured between the Monaghan semi-final and the Ulster final and wasn’t on the squad against Tipperary.

“With Danny, we’ll be doing fitness tests right up to the game, but it’s going to be tough to see him playing,” said O’Rourke. “He is extremely doubtful for the match though.”

Hughes’s groin problem kept him out of last weekend’s qualifier victory over Tipperary, a game O’Rourke wasn’t surprised to see Down progress through, despite the famed ‘six-day jinx’.

“They [the players] did everything right in the turnaround,” he said.

The full story is in the current issue of Gaelic Life, published on Thursday August 2. Buy your copy now in your local newsagent, or you can purchase the online version – for only 90p – by clicking here