By Shaun Casey

ARMAGH star Niall Grimley will be expected back in action in January and will miss his club Madden’s season after breaking a bone in his neck at county training.

In an interview for this week’s Gaelic Life, Madden manager Mickey Grimley said January is “Niall’s target” after his recovery from injury.

“The surgeon said the operation went well and told him he can start doing a bit more walking and stuff but no contact for another four or five months,” Mickey said.

“Niall won’t be playing for us, which is unfortunate. A lot of teams were looking forward to their county men coming back on to their panels, but we just haven’t got that X-factor which is a big blow to us.”

The Raparees take on Grange in the preliminary round of the Armagh Championship, set to take place at the end of August, with the winners meeting Killeavy in the next round.