“He’s in top class condition and able to make a substantial contribution” | John Kiely delighted with the return of Mike Casey

743 days.

That’s how long Mike Casey had to wait since his previous competitive appearance for the Limerick senior hurlers prior to his return on Sunday.

The Na Piarsaigh man injured his knee just prior to the start of the restructured championship in 2020 and suffered setbacks in his comeback that made him wait until the League clash with Offaly at the weekend for his return.

But the All-Ireland winning full back hit the ground running in his comeback, putting in an exceptional performance, gaining a thunderous reception from the Gaelic Grounds crowd.

Speaking on the return of the All-Star nominee, Limerick manager John Kiely was nothing but complimentary about the full back.

“He did and well deserved you know when your out on a long term injury. when you get repeated setbacks it can be very difficult it takes tremendous resilience, determination and commitment and his shown that in spades.

“He deserved every bit of that you know acknowledgement today for his efforts. You know what goes behind the scenes to rehab yourself to that level for him you know you see the shape he is in he’s in top class condition and he’s back and he’s able to make a substantial contribution.”

Casey’s return will be seen by many as a positive selection headache for John Kiely with five real options for that full back line.

Sean Finn, Casey and Richie English were the undisputed full back line prior to the knee injuries picked up by the latter two.

Barry Nash and Dan Morrissey slotted in seamlessly in the meantime with the duo both winning All-Stars in their new roles.

But for Kiely, the return of Casey is a huge boost and increase the already high competition in the squad.

It’s a massive boost for our group, it gives us loads of different options now and that’s what we are looking for. We have had a really good last three weeks as a group together and we feel we are in a great place now to press on for the next two weeks.

Listen to Kiely discuss Casey and more in the wake of the Offaly game below.

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