The news yesterday that DJ Carey has ruled himself out of the Kilkenny panel for the rest of the hurling championship was not unexpected, but it does leave a question mark over his inter-county future.
Since playing in the All-Ireland semi-final last August, which Kilkenny lost to Galway, Carey has had a series of injury problems. A car crash in the autumn left him with a severe neck injury and in early May he got appendicitis and had emergency surgery.
Though he remained absent from training with the Kilkenny panel, two weeks ago he returned with his club, Young Irelands, and appeared reasonably satisfied with his progress, after scoring six points. But after playing for his club again last Friday evening, he decided he did not have the necessary fitness or hunger to play a meaningful part in this year's championship.
"The championship won't happen for me now," Carey told the Kilkenny People. "I'm just not fit enough to play at inter-county level, and I'm not hungry enough to get fit enough.
"I played for the club for the last two weekends but didn't play particularly well and there is no way I will get to the fitness level required to be able to play a meaningful part in this year's championship. So I am closing the door."
Yesterday Carey was insisting he had not retired and hadn't ruled out returning to the inter-county scene next season. At 31, he is certainly not too old for another comeback, but it is also known that, as well as his injuries, work commitments have had him considering retirement.
In the meantime, Kilkenny will play out the rest of the championship - starting with the Leinster final against Wexford on Sunday week - without Carey for the first time in 13 seasons. Manager Brian Cody yesterday admitted Carey's decision was not a surprise.
"I've been in touch with DJ regularly over the last couple of weeks," said Cody. "Last weekend he was up front about it and told me he wouldn't be coming back this summer and I told the rest of the panel at training on Monday night that that was the case.
"Of course, the news wasn't too surprising because of all the setbacks he's had in the last couple of months. He's had a very limited number of games for his club as well and it was clear he was facing an uphill battle.
"But we were still hopeful that he might have made it back. I mean, as a player, he is still in a league of his own. It's difficult enough to win a Leinster title or an All-Ireland title, but it's even more difficult when you're trying to do it without one of the greatest players in the history of the game."
Carey played a leading role in Kilkenny's last three All-Ireland tiles - 1992, '93 and 2000 - and was also on the losing side in 1991, 1998 and 1999. But as an eight-time All Star and two-time Hurler of the Year, his status as one of the greatest players of the game has rarely been questioned.
