By Niall McCoy

IF you want to know all about the wear and tear of being a footballer, just ask Down captain Darren O’Hagan.

The Clonduff man recently returned to training after undergoing three separate surgeries before the turn of the year.

It’s unlikely – but not impossible – that he will be in the playing panel for Saturday’s Division Two North opener with Mayo.

Mourne county fans, however, shouldn’t have long to wait to see him back in the red and black, even if it must be from the comfort of their own homes due to Covid-19 restrictions on crowds.

The 2017 All-Star nominee provided some insight into what he went through and where he stands now.

“I had hip surgery but that had been coming over the last couple of years,” said O’Hagan. “It has been giving me trouble and it got to the stage last year where I couldn’t get through games. I was struggling.

“I broke the wrist in the first league game against Kilcoo last year, although I played away the whole championship with it. Then it got to a stage where I wasn’t fit to work with it.

“I did the knee against Mayobridge last year, I tore the cartilage. So I got three surgeries before Christmas.

“I got the cartilage done at the end of October, the hip done at start of December and I got the wrist done the week before Christmas, so it was a rough couple of months.

“I’m back into training and everything feels great. I am doing a session, sitting out a session – I’m just trying to build it up and not dive in too quickly.

“I’m ahead of schedule and I didn’t think I would be this far on, but it’s just about managing it and trying not to break it down again.

“Paddy (Tally) is good that way, he understands. He just wants the information on how the body is. You know your own body and you decide when you can and cannot train.”

Not to delve too deeply into the butterfly effect, but the idea that if O’Hagan had been fit for Down last year then the Mourne county would have reached an Ulster final is a solid one.

If circumstances had worked out similar and Tally’s side had led Cavan by 10 points, the Breffni county’s comeback would have been much trickier just by O’Hagan’s very presence. Given what happened in the provincial decider against Donegal for Mickey Graham’s men, it proved a massive opportunity missed.

They will have to put that aside this weekend given the task at hand. Mayo away in the league is the toughest of Division Two openers, but O’Hagan said that it’s crucial that team demonstrates that it is learning from its errors.

In a Qualifier two years ago, Down pushed the Westerners to the pin of their collar, and the versatile defender is hoping for another big performance.

“You can’t expect people to be giving you a look in because you’re arguably playing the second best team in Ireland over the last 10 years,” he said.

“We don’t mind that, that’s the way it’s going to be. Mayo are coming out of Division One and it’s a tough opener, but you’re going down to Castlebar and you have to believe that you can come up the road with something.

“All we can do is put in a performance and hopefully that will be good enough to get us a result.”

Daunting first fixtures look like they will be the norm for Down this season. As well as Mayo, the side have been pitted against Donegal in the Ulster Championship preliminary round.

O’Hagan made his championship debut against the Tir Chonaill county in that marvellous 2010 season that ended with the county coming so close to a sixth All-Ireland title.

Over the following decade, O’Hagan has come up against teams on top of the pile to the lowest ranks – and he is excited by the chance of big games against the highest-ranked opposition.

“When you go down to Division Three or Division Four, teams can bring you down to their level,” he said. “That’s not to say that Down are world-beaters or anything like that but when you play bigger teams you seem to get a bit more freedom. You get to play a bit more football.

“It’s exciting playing teams like that. It’s where Down want to be and we’re starting to climb the ladder.

“We’re in Division Two now and hopefully we will be playing competitive matches. We want to take another step forward and get back into Division One.

“The majority of boys who will play this weekend played against Mayo two years ago. Games like that you learn a lot from.

“That’s something Paddy has brought in, trying to get to the other side of matches. In years before we have been a point or two behind, but last year we were mostly a point or two ahead. It’s being able to do that regularly.

“Boys are learning how to grind out games and that’s a good quality to have.”

Like all squads, there have been a few ins and outs from last year’s panel, but some of those coming through the door have been there before – such as Gerard McGovern, Anthony Doherty and Pat Havern.

O’Hagan feels that the previous experience could be crucial as those players are aware of the physical requirements needed to compete at this level.

“There are new faces in but they are boys that have been there before,” he said.

“You’re not trying to blood these boys. They have played for Down before and that makes a massive difference.

“They are able to get back into the swing of things straight away.

“There is a bit of rustiness but the likes of Gerard and the boys have stepped in really well to it. Boys like that don’t take too long to settle back in.”