Massive blow as Loughlin confirms extent of injury
Westmeath’s hopes of reaching their Leinster senior football final in nine years have been dealt a massive blow with confirmation that star forward Luke Loughlin is to miss the remainder of the season.
Injured in the opening round against Longford, Loughlin lined out against Meath a fortnight ago and played a prominent role in attack, scoring 0-6, as Westmeath overcame their neighbours in the Leinster SFC for only the second time in their history. He was clearly in some distress in that game, even before he kicked his last point and supporters’ worst fears were realised on Wednesday.
“Today I got news that I more than likely won’t play sport again this year, never mind with Westmeath! I have a grade 4C hamstring tear and tendon rupture and I’ll need surgery which I found out is not good,” Loughlin posted on Instagram last night.
The Lake County star was philosophical about the news, drawing comparisons with other well-documented personal challenges he has faced.
“If the worst thing in my life at the moment is sport, I’m doing alright in the grand scheme of things,” he observed.
“To think last night I had it in my head I was going to try and feature at the weekend.
“Injuries are definitely a part of sport but I suppose why I am posting this is firstly I’m grateful that my setback is in sport and not my personal life, I didn’t relapse and I still have my overall health, thank God. I’ve also never been hurt before long-term in sport so it was going to happen eventually .
“All you can do is stay positive and win the battle,” he added. “I suppose things were going so well and coming into form at the right time but I do believe everything happens for a reason, I know I’ll be able to look back in a few months and take the learnings from the experience. I’ll also be able to do things that I’ve put off the last while!
“When I started this Instagram and posting about five years [ago], it was about my recovery and coming back from rock bottom and addiction and dealing with adversity to ultimately becoming the best version possible of yourself,” he continued.
“This is a perfect opportunity to practice what I preach, I’m a little different where I post most stuff as I know it can help a lot of people but it can also be like therapy for me.
“The highs of the last few weeks, I was grateful to be involved the way I was in the Meath game and to share that moment with my mam and one of my brothers I’ll cherish forever.
“You can also still be a great teammate, help the team in whatever way you can instead of falling away.
“But all you can do now is starve the distractions and feed the focus and get back hungrier and sharper than ever. It’s all part of the journey.”
Aside from Loughlin, there are concerns around dashing wing-back Matthew Whittaker and manager Mark McHugh will be hoping there are no further headaches. The Donegal man has options around finding a replacement for Loughlin in attack, including Danny McCartan, who came off the bench to score the fourth goal against Meath.
In contrast, Kildare's injury concerns appear to have eased and the likes of Ben McCormack (who made a strong impact off the bench against Laois), Alex Beirne and Jack Robinson could feature prominently on Sunday. Their 2-20 to 2-15 victory over Laois in the quarter-final may not have caught the same headlines as Westmeath's shock win over Meath, but it shows potential nonetheless.