JAMES O' DONOGHUE, the Kerry footballer has announced that he will not be returning to inter-county football action with his county next year.
The Kerryman was named Footballer of the Year in 2014 and won the All-Ireland that year, but had dropped out of the panel this year.
Speaking to OTB Sport's 'The Football Pod', the 31-year-old said:
"It's all over bar the shouting. Last year, I was fighting an uphill battle. Realistically, I stepped away from the panel just before the going got very serious because I wasn’t really contributing.
"I told them at that stage that I was retiring but because Kerry were going too well, we decided not to put out a statement and throw all the good vibes out of the camp. So we just kept it under wraps. It’s a painful one, it’s definitely something that’s going to be hard, but it’s the right thing."
The Club would like to congratulate James O Donoghue as he has announced his retirement from Inter County football.
Holder of 2 All Stars in 2013 and 2014 as well as Player of the Year 2014. pic.twitter.com/QVpBYmtreM— Killarney Legion GAA (@LegionGAA) January 25, 2022
Injuries have plagued O' Donoghue's time at Kerry recently, but he did say that he will continue playing for his club side Killarney Legion, he added,
"I actually did give a go at getting into very good nick for it, just to see if I could give it one last go, but do you know what, my body wasn't up to it.
"I’ll go back to the club now, tailor my programme and I guarantee you that I might not see another injury, just the slight drop in intensity might suit me. If I was right I could have picked up the phone and we’d have had a chat, but it just didn’t feel right."
