Jim Gavin Remains Optimistic On Stephen Cluxton’s Availability For Sunday’s Leinster Final
Jim Gavin will leave the decision to Dublin Captain Stephen Cluxton on his availability for this Sunday’s Leinster final against Laois In Croke Park.
Cluxton was taken off injured in the first half of Dublin’s Leinster championship semi final against Longford after a dangerous and reckless challenge by James McGivney.
After an assessment in hospital it was revealed that the player had sustained bruising to his ribs and his availability to line out in the provincial decider was thrown in doubt.
He was initially expected to be out of action for three to four weeks all but ruling him out of the final, but speaking at Dublin’s media briefing today Jim Gavin stated that they will continue to assess Cluxton’s injury over the next few days.
“Obviously he received that bang so, he’s a little bit tender, so we’ll make that assessment over the coming days.”
Gavin also revealed although still recovering from the injury Cluxton has shown his mental strength and determination to play in the Leinster final by training with squad.
“He’s been out (training) with us, Stephen is a tough guy, mentally very strong, determined, so we’ll just have to see over the coming days how he progresses.”
Gavin’s says the final decision on whether or not Cluxton will take up his customary position between the posts on Sunday will be left to the Dublin medical team and the player himself.
“Ah yeah very much so. He’s just sore from the bang. I’ll leave all those assessments to the medical team and the player. Ultimately it’s a player’s call, to say whether he’s available for selection. So I’ll talk to them over the coming hours and days and we’ll see how that goes out.”
Cluxton hasn’t missed a championship game since 2004 and that experience and consistency will certainly missed on Sunday, but his replacement the last day Evan Comerford gave an impressive performance against Longford, particularly with his distribution of the ball.
Gavin revealed that it will be Comerford that will take the number 1 jersey if Stephen Cluxton isn’t fit enough to start, but he also reiterated that they will give Dublin’s ever present captain every chance of lining out against Laois.
“It is, yeah but we’ve given other goalkeepers opportunities to deal with as well.
“Evan would have played obviously two league games as well this year, did very, very well.
But yeah he’s (Cluxton) been consistently there and that’s a testament to his determination for his sport, he’s a great passion for it and that’s very apparent when you’re around him, each time you train with the team, he’s a great leader. So but as I said we’ll give him every chance and see how it is.”
Whether or not Cluxton plays on Sunday as Dublin go in search of their 13th Leinster title in 14 years, Stephen will be back in time for the ‘Super 8s’ on the weekend of the 14th/15th of July.
