David Clifford is unlikely to feature for Kerry in the coming weeks after suffering an injury setback.

The Fossa ace was already due to sit out Kerry’s opening Allianz League fixtures with O’Connor keen to give his star forward an extended break.

Now it seems his absence from the starting team will be an enforced one after picking up an ankle injury.

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Speaking to reporters following his side’s dramatic win over Derry in Celtic Park, O’Connor was asked if Clifford could feature in the coming weeks.

“No David (Clifford), he won’t be in contention for the next couple of games at least. He has a bit of an issue with his ankle and that will curtail him for a while,” stated O’Connor.

“He came in one night to do bits and pieces but nothing much. He’s not back in full training yet and won’t be for a few weeks.”

There was a more positive update on the rest of the Kerry squad with players from Dr Crokes and Austin Stacks returning following the conclusion of the All-Ireland club Championships.

Micheál Burns of Dr Crokes has also rejoined the squad after being dropped in 2024.

“Some of the Crokes fellas came in last week. And the Stacks fellas, two of the Stacks fellas, Armin Heinrich and Joey Nagle were in last week just one night and they will be back in next week,” added O’Connor.

“We are gradually getting fellas back and making the panel stronger. I’d reckon by the end, a week or ten days before they get back fully.

“They have been doing bits and pieces but we had a bad run of injuries but we are starting to get fellas back.”

Following the postponement of their opening game, Kerry, like Donegal, face a taxing run of five games in consecutive weeks.

The round one tie has been rescheduled for Saturday in Killarney (2.30pm) before the Kingdom host Dublin in Tralee followed by back-to-back away games against Mayo and Tyrone.

O’Connor is expecting another difficult test against the Ulster champions this weekend and made a telling remark on the fitness of Jim McGuinness’s side.

“Yeah, Donegal will be a tough assignment next week,” added the Kerry boss.

“I think the whole country knows they have a lot of training done. Probably a good bit more than us. So… I’m trying to be as diplomatic as I can there.

“So yeah, it’s going to be a tough one but we have something to build on.”

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