TOMMY CONROY FELT something was wrong.

The Mayo star had never pulled a muscle or broken a bone before, but he had a feeling that this injury he had sustained was different.

It was early February, and Conroy was in Sigerson Cup quarter-final action for NUI Galway. He was simply taking on a Letterkenny IT player as half time approached when his knee gave way.

“I just tried to plant to go around him and I felt it pop when it happened,” Conroy recalls at the 2022 Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps launch.

“It knew it was something strange. It’s a very strange feeling.

“I didn’t know going home in the car what it was. When I got home that night, it wasn’t that swollen and there wasn’t that much pain. I did start getting hope that it might be another ligament, that it mightn’t be as serious. That made the shock of getting the scan a bit worse.”

The scan was completed the following morning, the subsequent results confirming his greatest fear. The dreaded cruciate. Everyone knows how it goes by now: surgery and a long, arduous recovery period — nine to 12 months on the sidelines, at the very least.

Day-by-day, week-by-week, all is going to plan for Conroy so far. But there’s no denying it is a cruel blow, particularly for one of the country’s brightest young talents.

The 22-year-old forward had been lighting it up for both county and college in the weeks leading up to the setback, with plenty of noise made about player welfare given the fact that he had played a full league game for Mayo two days beforehand.

“At the time, I didn’t want to think about it too much,” he reflects now. “I suppose I didn’t want to know the answer, whether it affected it or not.

“I’m sure it probably didn’t help but at the same time, I could have been resting for a month and still got the same injury so you’ll never know. It definitely is a hectic time period for anyone involved in both Sigerson and inter-county. There probably is a bit too much going on at that time of the year.”

“I’d probably prefer if they could run them separately,” he adds, when asked if he sees the need for a rule change or intervention, “because the Sigerson is a prestigious competition and it needs to be kept that way.

“Also, the National League is becoming so important nowadays, so high profile that players, definitely for me anyway, I’d like to play both if possible. I suppose, yeah, people probably need to sit down and put something in place for the players that they don’t have to be worrying about it themselves.”

Mayo star Tommy Conroy. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

Conroy went under the knife a month after the injury. Four weeks to the day, to be precise, after the swelling went down and a prehab programme was followed.

Recovery is “all going to plan” so far, he reports with a smile, almost eight-weeks post-surgery.

“The whole initial thing of when you’re planning out things and you can’t really walk too far and stuff like that, that’s totally gone so I’m back to fully having normality back.

“Rehab is going well. I’m being able to progress it on week-by-week and seeing a lot of progress. Probably not as much as I was seeing in the first couple of weeks but I suppose that’s to be expected. The first couple of weeks I found it amazing how quick things were progressing, going from barely being able to get out of the bed to nearly walking in the space of a week, a week-and-a-half. 

“It’s funny, I remember when I was walking around after 10 days and I was joking saying, ‘Sure I might be back for a Connacht final or something along those lines,’” he continues with a laugh. “No, that definitely won’t be happening I’m afraid. But it’s nice to see these positive moments I suppose.”

They’re certainly few and far between in the initial stages of major injuries, and given this was Conroy’s first, it surely made it all the harder.

The Neale clubman missed NUIG’s Sigerson Cup final win and Mayo’s Division 1 league final defeat to Kerry in Croke Park.

“I’d never really missed a major game so it was very new to me,” he frowns. “It was something I had to come to terms with and it definitely took time. I think I’m dealing with it as good as I can.

“The first couple of games that I went to or watched, I found it very tough. I didn’t really enjoy even going to them, I wouldn’t be the best onlooker. I think now I’ve come to the stage where I realise I’m not going to be involved and I’ve kind of acknowledged that. I’m okay with it now and I’m okay with the fact that I won’t be playing football for another six or seven months.

“I’ve become a bit more positive at this stage. Big game on Sunday, back in MacHale Park, full crowd — that won’t be the easiest thing. I’m still there for my team-mates. I’ll be wishing them well.”

Facing Donegal in January. James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

They’ve certainly been there for him, too.

He likes to think he’s “mentally strong,” but has leaned on team-mates that have been through similar experiences recently like Jason Doherty and Cillian O’Connor.

“They’ve had major injuries and they’re experienced players, really good fellas. They were very good to me and lent pieces of advice about how to deal with it. They’re definitely a great help.”

While Conory didn’t attend all of the Green and Red’s league games, he’s still very much involved in the squad. He gets down to training as much as possible “to feel like I’m part of the group and being able to contribute”.

“I want to help team-mates as much as I can. So if that means sitting in the stands and watching a bit of training and trying to spot something, or something along those lines, it’s something I like doing,” he notes, though busy with exams at the minute.

He’s studying a science degree in NUIG, has branched into Maths and is considering secondary school teaching in the future.

That’s certainly a welcome distraction, as his cruciate comeback continues, happy without any real timeline on his return.

“I haven’t set a proper target, no,” Conroy concludes. “It’ll probably be the end of the year. It’s hard to know how I’ll fare out in terms of playing a bit of club.

“At the minute I’m just taking it week by week. I’m just trying to do as much as I can to get me back to full fitness and get back as good as I can when the time does come at the end of the year.

“I have to acknowledge that I’ll have 10-plus years hopefully playing football. So in the back of my head, I want to make sure that I rehab the injury as best I can rather than trying to come back as quick as I can, if you get me?

“If you come back too quick it could affect it as well.”