Mayo pair ruled out of National League final

Paddy Durcan and Tommy Conroy have both been ruled out Mayo’s National Football League final against Kerry this Sunday.

Speaking at the Connacht GAA Senior Football Championship launch earlier today, Mayo assistant manager Stephen Rochford confirmed that duo are back in training but the Division 1 final against Jack O’Connor’s side in Croke Park comes too soon for the pair, with the Connacht quarter-final against Sligo on Sunday week a more likely possibility for a return.

“They are extremely close but with the compactness of the season, there's nobody pushing them forward for the sake of a week with the potential then that they get knocked out for three weeks.

We’ve had to patient; the lads have had to be patient themselves and it’s a credit to them that they continue to put the work in.

But when they're available for selection, we all look forward to that. They look forward to that as well and once they're available they'll be in.

Neither player has seen any league action due to injury. Durcan suffered a cruciate ligament injury last May against Cavan in the All-Ireland Series while Conroy has also missed the league due to a knee injury. 

Mayo have made one change for the final, which throws-in at 4pm on Sunday.

*See Tuesday’s Western People for a full preview of the Connacht SFC quarter-final against Sligo, including interviews with Rochford, Mayo forward Darren McHale and the view from the Sligo camp.