There are strengthening rumours that Kerry's Maurice Fitzgerald, the most gifted and revered Gaelic football player of his generation, will not play for the county again.
The Cahirciveen forward did not travel with the team for Sunday's loss against Roscommon and is understood to have been deeply upset at having been relegated to the substitutes bench for that match. Fitzgerald had started Kerry's previous league match against Offaly, which the All-Ireland champions lost, scoring two points. Kerry manager Paidi O Se told a Kerry radio station that he had been scheduled to "have talks" with Fitzgerald yesterday but that the meeting had fallen through as the player had to travel to Dublin.
"I was speaking with Maurice on Friday and he indicated that he would not be travelling with us to Roscommon," acknowledged the manager when asked about the public concern regarding Fitzgerald's future.
"I'm not in a position to say anything until such a time as I have spoken with Maurice," he concluded.
Fitzgerald's role in the Kerry attack has been a delicate and controversial issue since the summer, when he proved a central element to Kerry's All-Ireland triumph despite failing to start any match.
After missing most of last year's league through a series of injuries, the rangy forward was re-introduced gently through Kerry's straightforward march through Munster. So compelling was his performance in the drawn All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh that many felt certain he would be re-instated as a starter for the replay.
Fitzgerald's claims left the Kerry selectors in a difficult position. Accommodating Fitzgerald meant dropping one of six talented performers who had worked diligently for Kerry throughout the year, with a potential risk to the team's overall balance. But Fitzgerald was no everyday case. He delivered the 1997 All-Ireland title to Kerry with an outstanding individual showing. Although an appalling litany of injuries has seen him struggle to fully recapture the free-spirited form that set him apart three years ago, he remains a formidable force and there is little to suggest that his best days are behind him. He showed in devastating flourishes against Armagh and, in the All-Ireland replay against Galway, his ability to turn a game in an instant.
He was nominated for an All Star award despite not starting a single game and some commentators felt he merited the accolade.
Fitzgerald has not made any announcement redarding his future with Kerry, in keeping with his character. Throughout last August's daily media and public debates as to whether he should start for Kerry, he refused to become embroiled.
It is understood that O Se felt that Fitzgerald did not have the match fitness to sustain 70 minutes of All-Ireland football, preferring to spring him in games.
Kerry's lack-lustre return to league fare was of little surprise; few All-Ireland winning teams take anything other than a cursory interest in the league due to the combined stress of celebratory functions and sheer fatigue.
Although Fitzgerald was in New York last week to attend a midweek GAA function, it is thought that he was looking forward to the Roscommon game and intended using the league to fully rediscover his match sharpness.
Kerry's timid display in Dr Hyde Park puts the champions in line for a probable drop into the lower division of the league. This fades into insignificance, however, in comparison to the prospect of losing Fitzgerald, who is an incredibly popular figure in the county.
The St Mary's man made his senior intercounty debut in 1988 and quickly established himself as a prolific scorer and the leading light during a bleak time for Kerry football. He was the Texaco footballer of the year in 1997 and was selected as an All Star in 1988, 1996 and 1997.
