Patrick McBrearty is in a race against the clock to be fit for Donegal’s Ulster SFC clash with Derry.
The Kilcar man sat out Sunday’s 0-25 to 0-19 defeat by Tyrone in Letterkenny – and Jim McGuinness admits that time isn’t on his side with Derry due in Ballybofey on April 6.
McBrearty has missed Donegal’s last three games having suffered a dead leg and what has been described by his manager as a “soft tissue injury”.
The 31-year-old forward will have the injury reassessed by medics in Dublin this week.
“We’ll see how that goes,” McGuinness said, admitting that the player is “probably in a race for the Derry game”.
He said: “We will try to get him ready, but if there is a risk we won’t. We have to be careful and get that part of it right.”
McGuinness has reported that Michael Langan is “very, very close” while Brendan McCole is also recovering from an injury.
There was also a positive bulletin, too, on Cloughaneely midfielder Jason McGee, who has yet to play for the county this year.
“The positive with Jason is that he is pain free for the first time in three years,” McGuinness said.
“He had fairly major surgery in the summer and he’s coming out of the back of the surgery and into the return-to-play phase.
“We just hope now that he progresses and that he stays pain free. He did brilliant things for us the whole way through Ulster. It hasn’t been straightforward for him.
“He is very focused and he is doing all the right things and we are happy with how he is progressing.”
