GAELIC GAMES:Something about Croke Park on All-Ireland final day seems to play tricks with medical opinion. The Cork forward James Masters is the latest player to undergo a near-miraculous recovery with the biggest game of the year in mind; the broken jaw he suffered just over a month ago has healed beyond all expectations.
Masters sustained the injury late in Cork's quarter-final win over Sligo on August 4th. It looked like season over for the championship's highest scorer, but now he is confident of making the final against Kerry on Sunday week, whether starting or among the substitutes.
Last Sunday, the Kilkenny goalkeeper PJ Ryan defied a similarly cautious prognosis when starting in the hurling final win over Limerick four weeks after breaking an arm.
Masters, like Ryan, has been in a race against time, starting with surgery the week after the Sligo game, when metal wrapping and a steel plate were inserted.
"I met the surgeon again on Wednesday morning," he explained yesterday, "and was told it was coming on well. Any kind of break in the jaw is usually six to eight weeks' recovery, and I'm just about four weeks now since the operation. But it's healing very well.
"The plan is to have my first contact football on Saturday, and whether or not it will hold up there is another story. But I certainly haven't given up.
"The big thing at this stage is fitness. The lads have been training away for the last four weeks, constantly, and that's a lot to miss. And ultimately it's up to Billy Morgan if he wants to play me then or not.
"It's been hard, not being able to train with the team the way I'd like to. I can do certain things, and even last week was doing 70 or 80 per cent of the training.
"I still have a metal bar wrapping the jaw together, and I've a plate in there as well. And the plate will be kept in for final, if I do make it."
As Masters confirms, the injury occurred innocuously: "I just remember Michael Cussen had the ball and I was going around the outside. I saw a gap inside, checked in, and just got an elbow into the face. My mouth kept filling up with blood, and I couldn't get rid of it. I thought it was just a tooth gone first, but the jaw had actually cracked in half.
"I played on for a bit, but then when I tried to take a free I definitely felt a bit dizzy.
"For the first two or three weeks it was very sore, and I was limited to semi-solid food. I could do very little. No running; just some cycling - but that was hardly sufficient. It's only the last week and a half that I've been able to do anything significant. So it's been getting a lot better over the last week, and after every session you do become more confident in it. The big thing is contact. I still haven't done that yet."
With his scoring tally at 3-27 to date, Masters is clearly a player worth waiting for, though as he admits himself, Daniel Goulding did a fine job when stepping into his boots against Meath.
"Yeah, the lads gave a great performance in the semi-final, and that's the most important thing. And if I am fit I can't complain whether I'm a sub or not. Of course I want my place back, and I'll be trying very hard over the next week to do that. But getting the All-Ireland medal at the end of the day is what it's all about.
"It's just been frustrating for me, obviously. I hadn't missed an intercounty game in two or three years . . . Even missing the Meath game was a big disappointment."
With Cork's old rivals in wait on Sunday week, Masters has added motivation to return.
"Yeah, we've either beaten them or run them close in Munster. It has been different in Croke Park, but I think this team is a lot more mature, and certainly the Croke Park factor has gone out the window since the Meath game. Kerry will go in as favourites. We just have to prove ourselves now."
