CHRISTY TOYE SEEMS SET to make his first appearance of 2016 this Sunday as Donegal face Mayo in Sean MacCumhaill Park.
The St Michael’s man was on the bench for Donegal’s opening two Allianz League wins over Down and Cork, but the 32-year-old is expected to add to his 151 Donegal appearances in Ballybofey this weekend.
Toye has had his share of injury and illness in recent years, but his enthusiasm and will to play for the county hasn’t dimmed.
If anything, it’s kept his appetite as fresh as it ever was.
“I felt I could contribute and more importantly, the management wanted me back too. I didn’t want to walk away,” Toye said in a recent interview.
Rory Gallagher, the Donegal manager, has integrated Toye back into collective training and has indicated that the Creeslough man is ‘ready to rock’.
“We’ll see how it goes, but Christy is back in training, he’s 100 per cent and it’s likely we’ll get him some game time at the weekend,” Gallagher told Donegal Sport Hub.
Gallagher is awaiting results of a scan on a knee injury sustained by Ciaran Thompson, who is a doubt for the game.
The Donegal manager said: “Ciaran has had a great start to the year, he’s been a big plus for us, but he’s got a bang on the knee and we’ll just have to wait to see how he is.”
Karl Lacey and Colm McFadden won’t play this week or on Sunday-week, when Donegal face Kerry in Killarney, with Gallagher keen to hold them in reserve for as long as possible.
Mark McHugh is in line for a recall on Sunday having played a starting role last Sunday in Celtic Park as Donegal defeated Derry in a challenge game. McHugh had been training on his own, away from the panel, before returning to collective sessions in recent weeks, with Gallagher noting that the Kilcar man ‘isn’t far away’ from being thrown in.
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