BY RONAN SCOTT
r.scott@gaeliclife.com
Last summer, on a sweltering hot day at Casement Park, Derry defeated Antrim at the start of their run to an All-Ireland quarter-final.
Every Derry fan left the ground drunk on the heady thoughts of a summer run to an All-Ireland final. All except Paul Cartin that is. In that match he tore a ligament in his knee. Cartin admits that it was a 'freak' injury because it happened when he was running in a straight line and not, as most cruciate injuries do, when he was turning.
Ten months on from that horrible day Cartin's mood has changed completely. From that low point of disappointment he agonisingly close to making a return to the county panel after almost a year of rehabilitation and surgery. On Sunday he hopes to make a place on the bench.
"I have played a few games for the club and since then I haven't even felt my knee, " he said.
"There is no pain at all. The only thing I am missing is that bit of match fitness."
Credit must go to Chris McNicholl and Conor Henry who are the physio's with the county team who have nursed him back to full health after his operation which took place at the Balmoral Surgery in Belfast.
But there is another man who also deserves credit for helping Cartin.
"Myself and Ryan McElhone (from Newbridge who is also on the Derry panel) did a lot of training together. He had a cruciate injury as well and it was good having someone else there to push me along," he said.
According to Cartin everyone on the team has been very supportive and both he and McElhone have been training along with the senior team.
The news that Cartin is close to a return is not only a boost to the team, but also to the fans who worry about the strength of Derry's half back line. With Sean Martin Lockhart and Niall McCusker returning it seems that Derry's choice of defenders is so great that they should have no problem navigating the Ulster championship unscathed. Perhaps that should be a worry for a player like Cartin who, once he regains full match fitness, must try and usurp the likes of Liam Hinphey, Michael McIver and Gerard O'Kane. Those three performed brilliantly on the half back line last weekend against Tyrone. However, Cartin can see the wider picture. "A team won't win anything if they don't have competition for places," he said.
But there is one memory from his time spent waiting on the sidelines that spurs him on to win that competition for a first team place.
"On the day they played Dublin [in the All-Ireland quarter-final last year] it was hard to sit and watch that game," he said.
"It's hard to say if I could have made a difference but I would love to have tried."
On Sunday he expects to be watching Derry play Donegal from the sidelines. There is a good chance that he could start though considering that he has already had some match time with his club. However, unlike the loss to Dublin at Croke Park, Cartin predicts that Sunday's result will be in Derry's favour.
"I think Derry will win but it won't be easy. Donegal have beaten Derry the last couple of times we have played. It will be the toughest game that Derry have played, tougher than Tyrone because Donegal have more up front. The likes of McFadden and Devenney if he plays," he added.
If Derry win, then it might give Cartin a chance to make a return in the Divisional final, and as a result it will have taken less than a year to recover from one of the toughest injuries a footballer can suffer.
