LONG-STANDING Tyrone senior footballer Tiernan McCann has opted out of the Tyrone squad for 2022.

The news will come as a blow ahead of the forthcoming league campaign, though there is some good news for Tyrone fans as Ronan McNamee has committed to another year.

Feargal Logan has confirmed that two-time All-Star nominee McCann has decided to step aside, but that full-back Ronan McNamee remains on the panel after missing the McKenna Cup due to injury.

McCann, whose trademark role was that of a rampaging half-back, was drafted into the Tyrone panel in late 2012 and gave almost a decade of uninterrupted service to the team.

He made his championship debut in 2014, and the athletic Killyclogher man soon established himself as a regular starter under former manager Mickey Harte.

McCann played a major role in Tyrone’s run to an All-Ireland final in 2018, though his game-time was more limited under Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher, who are entering their second season in charge of the Red Hands.

However, he still can still be immensely proud of his contribution to Tyrone’s All-Ireland win last year. He came off the bench and kicked three points in a memorable Ulster semi-final victory over Donegal, and he also made a positive impact against Kerry in the last four of the All-Ireland series.

Meanwhile, Tyrone full-back Ronan McNamee has committed to another year in the Red Hand jersey.

In an interview ahead of next Sunday’s league opener against Monaghan, Feargal Logan explained that McNamee has been rehabbing at the moment and that’s why he wasn’t available for selection during the McKenna Cup.