BEFORE UNDERGOING AN operation on his ankle late last year, Paul Mannion posted a photo in the Kilmacud Crokes WhatsApp group.

Paul Mannion being substituted with an ankle injury in action for Kilmacud Crokes. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

“Here I go again, lads,” he wrote in the caption. This wasn’t his first rodeo, nor had it been all that long since his last one. He had ankle trouble before in 2019. In 2021, he was struck down with a knee ligament injury in a Leinster semi-final win over Portarlington; surgery was required as Mannion missed out on the club’s charge to the All-Ireland final.

And now here he was, going under the knife again some 12 months later after picking up another ankle injury in the Dublin championship quarter-finals.

He was expected to be sidelined for three months, and time was against him, but in the aftermath of Kilmacud’s All-Ireland semi-final victory, manager Robbie Brennan suggested that his mercurial forward might regain his fitness in time for the showpiece against Glen. 

“It was very tricky,” Brennan recalls.

“We genuinely didn’t know because he was doing very little in relation to what we were doing on the pitch. We all knew he was doing his recovery on his own but we didn’t see anything to indicate that he would be ready. I think the Saturday before the All-Ireland final, he had a bit of a run out and he had about 20 minutes in that. 

“It was a late call for us but he was obviously determined and he’d missed the previous year’s All-Ireland final against Kilcoo with injury. There was added pressure to be back, but we never rushed it.

“I always said from the start that because he had announced that he was going back with Dublin, while ours was important, there was another part of the season that Paul was going to be involved in which is happening now. We were never going to risk it medically.

“He did everything to get himself right; he’s brilliant at that. He probably went over and above to get the recovery right. He was back quicker than possibly anyone expected.”

Brennan isn’t quite sure how Mannion managed to beat the clock on his recovery time. Firstly, he says that the Kilmacud forward is “a bit of a freak,” with a physical constitution that enables him to bounce back from such setbacks. But Mannion also has a sturdy mentality and Brennan credits him for the “full commitment” he poured into his recovery. A bit out of column A and a bit out of column B.

In that final against Glen, Mannion kicked a free to help his side avenge their 2022 defeat and complete their All-Ireland mission. Crokes’ victory was clouded with controversy due to the extra player they had on the field at the final whistle, but that doesn’t detract from Mannion’s effort to get back on the pitch.

Prior to his injury, Mannion had already announced that he was returning to the Dublin panel for the 2023 season. Jack McCaffrey was committed to making a return too, and now, Stephen Cluxton has also rejoined Dessie Farrell’s squad.

“It looks like the band are nearly back together,” says Brennan about the return of three multi-All-Ireland winning stars for the Dubs.

All three have been on breaks of different lengths, with Mannion’s absence stretching back to the 2020 All-Ireland final win over Mayo. The ankle injury aside, Brennan believes that the break has been beneficial for Mannion.

“He’s definitely recharged the batteries a little bit and got the juices flowing again. He looks to be in good form again.

“It was great to see him the last day [in the Leinster semi-final against Kildare]. He kicked three from play and possibly could have had another two. He’s getting there slowly but surely and minding it pretty well. Dublin have looked after him as much as you’d expect, and not rushed him back in.

“I’d say he’s peaking at the right time.”

Paul Mannion stepped away from the Dublin panel after the 2020 All-Ireland final. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

That two-year break wasn’t Mannion’s first siesta from inter-county football. In 2015, he travelled to Beijing in China to study for a year. Brennan wasn’t in charge of Kilmacud Crokes at that time, but he was familiar with the trip that Mannion was taking, having spent some time in China in the past. 

“I kind of would know the background of where he was and how he enjoyed it,” he says. “He loved his time there and I think possibly were it not for football and family at home, he may have considered staying.

“He went away as a skinny, quick forward and before you know it, he turned into this absolute beast of a forward. I think that break in itself was good for him.”

Dublin are seeking a Leinster 13-in-a-row this weekend against Louth, a county who will be contesting their first provincial decider since 2010. The controversy involved in their defeat to Meath on that infamous day is well documented by now. Interestingly, that win for the Royals is the only result to break up Dublin’s dominance in Leinster over the last 20 years.

Dublin’s huge win over Laois in the Leinster quarter-final offered little insight as to the extent of Dublin’s development in 2023, but Kildare certainly tested their pulses in the semi-final.

Louth will look to present another step up in difficulty, and are enjoying a notable upswing under manager Mickey Harte, but the weight of history is on their shoulders and the pain of 2010 still stings for those in the Wee County.

But with all that said, Dublin will still be expected to retain their title. Competition for places has always been ferocious in the Dublin team, and that remains true since Mannion’s return. He appears to have settled into a consistent starting place in the forwards in 2023, and will hope to tighten his grip of the jersey as the season goes on.

“The competition there is huge to even get into the matchday squad,” says Brennan.

“But what Paul did in the Dublin jersey the first time around was dream stuff.”

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