Patrick McBrearty has been ruled out of Sunday’s Allianz League Division 1 clash with Dublin.
The Kilcar man limped out of Donegal’s win over Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park last weekend and looks set to be out of action for a few weeks.
“He definitely won’t be available this week,” Donegal manager Rory Gallagher confirmed.
“He has a low, grade 2, groin problem. It’s nothing serious and won’t keep him out long term. He has to be symptom free before he can return to running.
“He hasn’t missed many League games for us in the last number of years and it’s a blow.
“We knew that day in Roscommon that he was unlikely to be available.”
Gallagher has described Kieran Gillespie’s chances of making it as ‘touch and go’, while Frank McGlynn and Martin McElhinney are in a race against the clock.
McElhinney has returned to full training, but Gallagher said it ‘might be tight’ to expect the St Michael’s man to feature against the Dubs, although he confirmed that McGlynn will play some part.
On the Glenfin man, Gallagher said: “Frank doesn’t have the same volume of training done. He came back late and he is making progress. He will either start or come on.”
In the absence of McBrearty, Darach O’Connor, who is inching his way back from a cruciate knee ligament injury, is in line to start Sunday’s game in Ballybofey.
Gallagher said: “He missed two years of full training. He has worked exceptionally hard to get himself physically fit to play at this level.
“We see some good moments of that. He’s still only 60 or 70 percent, but he’s working hard at it. Over the next few weeks, we’ll get a good few minutes into him.”
Rory Carr, meanwhile, is set to visit a specialist in Galway within the next week to have a shoulder injury re-assessed, but the St Eunan’s man hopes to get the all-clear.
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