DOWN could be without the services of key forward Donal O’Hare for a large portion of the 2021 season as he requires knee surgery.

The Burren ace, who has been a remarkable score-provider for the Mourne county, recently had a scan and is hoping to go under the knife at the end of February or early in March.

That would almost certainly put a hold on any aspirations of representing his county this year, but with the GAA still set to confirm dates for the various competitions this season and with potential changes in store, the player is not making any call until his operation is completed.

O’Hare remains one of the most underrated players in Ulster and has been his county’s top National League scorer for six of the last eight seasons, Darragh O’Hanlon and Barry O’Hagan the other two with that particular honour.

He scored 1-4 in November’s 1-15 to 0-11 Ulster win over Fermanagh and also hit four points in their provincial semi-final loss to Cavan.

As revealed by Gaelic Life, a number of players, such as Gerard McGovern and Pat Havern, are due to rejoin the squad when the season commences.