Patrick McBrearty is on course to be fit for the start of Donegal’s Ulster championship defence in 2019.
McBrearty sustained rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during Donegal’s Ulster final win over Fermanagh in June.
The Kilcar man had been in excellent form, having hit a combined 18 points in Donegal’s opening three Ulster SFC games of 2018.
Donegal manager Declan Bonner believes McBrearty will be ready for the 2019 Ulster opener on May 26th, which sees the Tir Chonaill men face Fermanagh in a repeat of this year’s final.
“Patrick has been doing his rehab, he’s ahead of schedule and working extremely hard,” Bonner said.
“The medical team have worked well with him. He’s coming on good.
“He won’t see any game time in the League, but we’d be hoping to see him up and running for the Championships. That’s a realistic target and what we’re looking for.”
Gaoth Dobhair’s Kieran Gillespie had surgery to repair a cruciate injury before Christmas.
Gillespie suffered the injury in the opening seconds of his club’s Ulster club championship game against Cargin.
Bonner said: “Kieran’s on the long road to recover, but he’ll get the best medical care. The target for him would be the end of the summer and maybe the Super 8s.”
On Thursday, Ryan McHugh had his first outing since sustaining a concussion injury during a club challenge game for Kilcar against St Vincent’s in August. The injury kept McHugh out of Kilcar’s Donegal SFC campaign.
All-Star McHugh played in a fundraising charity match in Downings on Thursday and Bonner says he ‘got through it well’.
