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O'Shea. INPHO/Donall Farmer
Fighting Fit

'The quarter-final came too soon but the body is feeling good again' - Seamus O'Shea

The Mayo midfielder says he is ready to go if called upon for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final with Dublin.

MAYO’S SEAMUS O’SHEA may have been dogged by injuries for most of the year but insists he is raring to go for Sunday’s All-Ireland SFC semi-final at Croke Park.

The Connacht champions take on Dublin, who won their first Sam Maguire in 16 years last September, and a meeting with Donegal in next month’s final is the prize at stake.

Midfielder O’Shea has been out of the team for the majority of 2012 due to a series of hamstring, quad and groin problems he picked up early on in the league campaign.

His chances of claiming a starting berth in James Horan’s first XV are remote but the Breaffy clubman says he will be disappointed if he doesn’t get the nod.

“It’s been a stop start season for me,” he said. “But I’m back training now since just before the Down game so I have three or four weeks of work behind me. I’m getting a bit of fitness behind me.

“It’s behind me now and hopefully it’s coming right at the right time of year enjoying it now, it’s great to be back on the pitch.

“You always want to play. But that’s up to James. All I can do is work hard in training. If I’m called upon, it’d be great.

But the most important thing is that Mayo get to an All-Ireland final. The quarter-final came too soon but I’ve a few weeks of work under me now and the body is feeling good again.

“I feel good. I am ready to go.  Ideally you don’t want to be missing too many training sessions if you are going to be playing midfield at that level. You don’t want to be injured.  You want to be putting in
the work.

“To be honest I was in the same position last year.  I missed the entire national league with a  broken ankle and came back and started in the championship and I felt fine for the championship.

“Look it, if you are looking after yourself when you are injured you won’t be too bad when you come back.”

Lining out ahead of O’Shea in a midfield partnership are two players he knows all too well. Barry Moran came through the Mayo ranks at same time as him while Aiden O’Shea, his younger brother, has shaken off injury problems of his own to claim a spot.

On the pair, O’Shea added: “He (Aidan) was out for three months with a groin injury and he worked very hard to get back, came back a couple of weeks before the Sligo game and came on and made a difference – it was great.”

“Barry got in the way. We have a good understanding, we’ve played together in club football. I’ve grown up playing football with Barry, we’d have played under-21 and minor together in 2004, he’s had a terrible run of injuries but he’s been well looked after this year by the medical team and the physio.

I wasn’t really playing this year so it wasn’t really going to happen. Barry has been having a great season, a couple of man of the matches in the Connacht championship. He’s been playing great football and was very good against Down again I thought.

“Obviously Aidan has come on over the last couple of games and they are going well around the middle of the field.”

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