Aidan O’Mahony is one tough son of a b*tch

We knew they were tough in Kerry, but playing with a broken leg is probably a bridge too far. Unless you’re Aidan O’Mahony, of course.

The Kerry defender broke the fibula in his left leg early in the first half of Rathmore’s Kerry SFC victory over Laune Rangers on Sunday, but soldiered on to play a starring role in his side’s success.

O’Mahony, who was originally selected at midfield, was moved to full forward after suffering the injury and even managed to score a couple of points while he was in there.

In what is both a frank and priceless recollection of the incident, O’Mahony said: "When the tackle came in, I felt the crack. Playing in club finals, you don't want to come off.

"I couldn't really move so the best thing for me was to be moved full forward.

"At half time the physio said he thought it was a fibula head that was after breaking so he cracked it in and I got another 20 minutes in the second half.

"The lads have been training all year and the last place I wanted to be was on the sideline."

O’Mahony now faces up to two months on the sidelines as a result of the injury and although he is expected to return in time for the National Football League next season, he will miss Rathmore’s provincial club championship campaign if Mid-Kerry overcome Dr. Crokes in the Kerry County Final this weekend.

Laudable and all as O’Mahony’s bravery is, the whole episode raises two questions.

First of all, how bad was the Laune Rangers full-back that allowed him to knock over two points on a broken leg? And secondly, how bad is Rathmore’s first sub, considering that the management refused to make a change and that the physio, in O’Mahony’s words, “cracked it (his bone) in” so that he could continue?

One thing’s for sure, Aidan has certainly toughened up a whole lot since this unsavoury incident back in 2008.