Kerrigan battling injury ahead of All-Ireland semi while Dongahy commits to another season with Kerry

NEMO RANGERS flier Paul Kerrigan has 11 weeks to get ready for the All-Ireland club semi-final.

A knee injury suffered late on in last weekend’s rousing Munster final defeat of Dr Croke’s forced the 30-year-old Cork veteran off, but will not require surgery.

Instead, Kerrigan will spend the Christmas period recovering from his posterior cruciate ligament tear in a bid to face Slaughtneil on February 17. As double Ulster champions, the Derry side will take on Limerick’s Na Piarsaigh the week before in the All-Ireland hurling semi-final.

Meanwhile, Kieran Donaghy will pull on the Kerry jersey again in 2018.

The four-time All-Ireland winner, who will be 35 next March, has confirmed to Irish Examiner Sport that he’s aiming to play a 14th season in the Green and Gold.

“I’ve always said it, I’ll retire when I can’t help Kerry anymore,” said Donaghy in tomorrow’s Irish Examiner Weekend Sport big interview.

“Would it be easy for me to go out now? It would be easy. After a very good year at 34, nominated for an All-Star, and have people saying: ‘Jesus, he was a great bit of stuff. Wow, you should never have retired, man, you were flying.’

“If I don’t help Kerry on the pitch or I feel I can’t help Kerry on the pitch, I’ll be retired quicker than you can sit down.

“I still enjoy it, so why would I retire? Because society thinks I should retire? Because when you get over 30 in the GAA they all think you should retire?”

Donaghy will see out the basketball season with Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, which means a couple of showdowns with UCC Demons in the coming weeks.

They host their Cork rivals this Sunday in the SuperLeague before a huge National Cup quarter-final next weekend on Leeside.