RORY Gallagher, the Donegal manager, has moved to allay fears that his captain, Michael Murphy, is hampered by a knee injury ahead of Saturday’s All-Ireland qualifier against Galway.
Donegal go into the game without Karl Lacey, but Gallagher insists that Murphy is at full tilt.
“Michael is fine,” said Gallagher, who admitted that the Glenswilly man had a minor injury in the lead-up to the Ulster final against Monaghan.
“He did have a slight knee ligament injury before we played Monaghan, but the last thing we want to do is make excuses.
“Michael was fit to play. The injury was causing him a small bit of distress, but he didn’t damage it any further.
“These things carry legs. If we train somewhere and someone doesn’t train the whole thing gets magnified.”
Lacey misses out because of the medial ligament injury that forced him to leave the action five minutes into the second half of the Ulster final.
The 2012 Footballer of the Year would be a doubt for a potential All-Ireland quarter-final were Donegal to defeat Galway.
Gallagher said: “Thankfully he doesn’t require surgery, so it’s not a long-term injury. The recover time is somewhere between two and six weeks and it is improving bit by bit.
“Karl has worked so hard and he was having a terrific championship for us.”
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