Massive blow for Kerry as Gooch’s cruciate fears confirmed

In what is a terrible, terrible blow for Kerry, it has been confirmed that star forward Colm Cooper has ruptured the cruciate ligament in his knee following an incident in the All-Ireland club-semi-final on Saturday.

According to John Fogarty of The Irish Examiner, Gooch's worst fears were realised after he underwent a scan in the Santry Sports Surgery Clinic this morning to discover the extent of the damage done to his right knee in an incident which forced his withdrawal during Dr. Crokes’ defeat at the hands of Castlebar Mitchels in Portlaoise on Saturday.

Colm Cooper has ruptured his cruciate ligament in his right knee #GAA — John Fogarty (@JohnFogartyIrl) February 17, 2014

  Cooper suffered the injury in the process of scoring a point midway through the first half of that game, falling awkwardly under pressure from two Castlebar defenders as he knocked over his second point of the game. Although it is early days yet, the nature of the injury suggests that Cooper will miss the majority, if not all of, this season as a result. It is a massive blow for Kerry boss Eamonn Fitzmaurice, who will have to plan without the Kingdom’s star man and arguably the best forward in Gaelic Football in the last decade and this season’s Championship will be a poorer one in his absence. We wish Cooper all the best in his recovery.