Derry mainstay Padraig McGrogan will not play any further part for the Oakleaf County in 2024 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The 2022 and '23 Ulster champions will aim to bounce back from the shock factor of conceding four goals to Jim McGuinness's rampant Donegal side in their Ulster loss at Celtic Park when they take on Galway in their first All-Ireland group stage fixture next Saturday.
However, McGrogan won't be there, or for any of their other matches this season, after that serious injury picked up in the aftermath of the Donegal loss.
The Newbridge youngster has been a mainstay under former boss Rory Gallagher and current manager Mickey Harte, and the defender’s absence is a serious blow to their Sam Maguire ambitions.
"I had a fairly bad injury on the Thursday after the Donegal game, just in training," McGrogan said at the Allianz launch of the 2024 All-Ireland football championship.
"It was my ACL so I’ll not be taking part in much more now. There’s no hiding it now, it’s done a couple of weeks ago and it’s just the way it is, it can happen."
McGrogan is hoping to have surgery on his right knee early in June before beginning his rehab.
"It’s something I’ve done a million times before," he said of the incident. "I just went to turn inside and that was me right away, I’d done something. Just a freak accident, it could happen so easily.
"You never fear it. I felt 100% the whole way through training and it just happened suddenly.
"I knew right away it was fairly serious; there was a bit of a crunch and the pain let me know there was something not right anyway."
McGrogan is the third prominent Ulster player to suffer a cruciate injury in recent weeks, with Down forward Barry O'Hagan and Cavan attacking ace Paddy Lynch also seeing their county seasons ended prematurely.
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