Concern for Crawford

Just when it appeared Meath were turning a corner in their incessant battle against injuries ahead of Sunday's Leinster SFC quarter-final against Laois in Croke Park they were struck with more bad news after last Thursday's session when captain Nigel Crawford jarred his back, but Kevin Reilly is winning his race to be fit. Meath manager Eamonn O'Brien wasn't overly worried about the knock received by his key midfielder and is hopeful that Crawford will respond positively to treatment and lead the team out as captain in his 51st championship outing. "We are hopeful that Nigel Crawford will be ok. He didn't train over the weekend, but we will have a look at him at training on Tuesday and see if he is ok. Nigel is more of a concern than a doubt," said the manager. If Crawford were to be ruled out it would be a massive blow to O'Brien. The Dunboyne man was Meath's most outstanding performer against Offaly and has been one of the most consistent players for Meath over the last five years. Other injury concerns surrounding Navan O'Mahonys pair Kevin Reilly and Cormac McGuinness are close to being cleared up. Both players have returned to full training and the only worries about both men now is their lack of match practice. "Kevin Reilly and Cormac McGuinness have both come through a couple of training sessions and are moving well. We won't decide until after training tonight (Tuesday) if they are in contention, but they look to be in good form. "We would be worried a bit about match fitness, but they are doing well. Laois are fast all over the field. They surge forward from half-backs and midfield and have a pacy forward line so we will have to be at our best." Reilly hasn't started a competitive match for Meath for a long time and since damaging his hamstring in the SFC for O'Mahonys against Summerhill McGuinness has been confined to the sidelines until returning to training last week. The week away with their clubs threw up a few injury problems with Brian Meade, Seamus Kenny, Bryan Menton and Peadar Byrne picking up knocks, but O'Brien is confident that all four will be in contention to play. "The players that picked up injuries with their clubs all trained last Thursday night and at the weekend, so they should be all ok. Jamie Queeney is back in contention, but I'm not too sure about Ollie Lewis because he was injured. He did the training no problem, so we have to see what reaction he had to his injuries," he said. Meade's return to fitness will be a significant boost as his form during Rathkenny's shock SFC win over Seneschalstown was brilliant and he will offer an alternative at midfield if Crawford fails to recover from injury. The news is also brighter for Na Fianna's Jamie Queeney. He was ruled out of consideration for the first round test against Offaly, but O'Brien is hopeful he will be fit for Sunday's fresh challenge, although his club mate Ollie Lewis is out of the running with ankle and hand injuries. Summerhill's Davy Dalton was another player who missed out on the Offaly game and he is also unlikely to feature next Sunday. Definetely out are long-term absentees Niall McKeigue and David Bray, while both Brian Sheridan and Barry Regan have opted out of the panel. "Training has been good since we got back. Everybody is looking forward to the game now and we hope to give it our best shot. With all the shocks last weekend, nobody can take anything for granted. We have always been on our guard about Laois. We have no reason not to be on our guard because our record hasn't been great over the last few years. "Managing back-to-back wins would be an improvement for us. There is no point in producing one good performance and following it with a poor display. We need consistency, we expect a battle on Sunday and we are looking for a good performance. We need to perform to a very high level if we are to compete. If we have any aspirations to be in a Leinster semi-final then we have to find consistency in our performance," concluded the manager. The Meath team that will face Cavan in Wednesday's Leinster JFC semi-final at Pairc Tailteann will be - Shane Geraghty (Na Fianna); Gerry Farrelly (Castletown), Stephen Clynch (Dunsany), Padraig Young (Syddan); Terry Farrelly (Oldcastle), Stephen MacGabhann (Navan O'Mahonys), Michael Shankey (Kilmainhamwood); Barry Lynch (Kilmainham), Terry Skelly (Drumconrath); Paddy Gilsenan (Oldcastle), Rory Maguire (Longwood), Cian Mallon (Ballinlough); David Morgan (Donaghmore/Ashbourne), Casey Dunne (Duleek/Bellewstown), Eoin Gilsenan (Oldcastle). The winners of our competition for a pair of tickets to Sunday's Leinster SFC quarter-finals at Croke Park are Seamus O'Connor, Carnaross; Shirley Reilly, Kells and Stephen Cullen, Trim. The correct answer to the question, how many Meath players had beards in the win over Offaly was five - Michael Burke, Cian Ward, Chris O'Connor, Caoimhin King and Brian Meade.