Connolly making up for lost time

CORKS ALAN OVER HIS INJURY NIGHTMARE

- BY PAUL KEANE

RED HOT FORM Alan Connolly at a League media event at The Anner Hotel in Thurles

ALAN Connolly has turned into a player who can't stop scoring for Cork.

The Blackrock attacker puts it down to a little perseverance and a whole lot of love.

The perseverance part he can take all the credit for himself, bouncing back superbly across 2024 and 2025 after missing an entire year to injury.

A mixture of shoulder surgery in late 2022, and then a bad hamstring injury cost him the entire 2023 season with Cork.

That's where the love of those closest to him came in, from his girlfriend Alanna who urged him to stay positive, to his family, his Blackrock clubmates and his friends and he hasn't looked back since, starting every single Championship game for Cork in the last two seasons.

He'll hit a new milestone this Sunday if he lines out against Kilkenny in the Allianz NHL - the first time he's started four League games in a row.