This time last year, Alan Cadogan was in a different spot - Cork were too.
Last summer, the forward was on the sideline, injured, as Cork prepared for the Munster final against Clare. This year, Cadogan is injury-free but Cork will not play in the Munster decider for the first time since 2016 after they finished third in this year's round robin group.
"Around the 20th of May, I got the surgery on my knee," says Cadogan, who was in attendance at the launch of Leisureplex’s ‘Share Your Summer’ campaign.
"It was a kind of thing which we were managing over maybe 6 - 8 months, doing rehab, training, not training.
"The patella tendon injuries are very common in GAA but it just got to a stage where the operation was the only thing. When I got it done then, the surgeon said it was 8-16 weeks.
"It's a part of sport. Luckily enough in my career so far I haven't had any serious injuries, just the knee last year.
"Once you kind of accept it and you know the reality, as someone told me and it might sound a bit weird, if you embrace the injury, you say, 'This is it, I've this time period and I need to do this, this, this to get back'.
"Once you know you've an end date, that's your target, I think you're able to approach the injury quite differently and I knew myself last year what I had to do regards rehab.
"As I say to any young fella or to anyone I recommend to the physio, you've two choices, you either do the rehab and you'll come back stronger or you don't do the rehab and you won't come back and you'll break down.
"So lucky enough, with my profession last year, I was able to finish teaching and I'd June, July and August."
Alan Cadogan of Cork in attendance at the launch of Leisureplex's 'Share Your Summer' campaign. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
The 26-year-old spent two hours per day, every second day on rehab.
"That's a mixture of everything," he says, "that's upper body and then you're doing rehab with your leg.
"It was a fairly rigorous program but as I said time was on my side. I didn't have to go to work so I could do it in the morning, evening, whatever suited me."
While time was on his side for rehabilitation, it ultimately ran out on his chances of playing in the championship. There was a chance, if Cork had made it there, that Cadogan would have been available last year's All-Ireland final. He togged out for the semi-final against Limerick, wearing number 27, a game featuring 68 points which Cork lost by four in extra-time.
An early exit to St Finbarr's followed for his club Douglas in the Cork SHC.
I kind of chose then not to pursue football with the club because I was coming back and I knew that kicking football with my right leg, even though I enjoy playing football very much, you have to be selfish sometimes.
Coming back and maybe jeopardising that and going back to square one. It was a hard decision but I think it was the right one in the long term.
I started my pre-season early in October, November, so I was training and everything was going fine, I was picking up other injuries.
Like a finger, which was a freak accident which got caught in Sean O'Donoghue's bib, don't ask me how. A quad obviously against Tipperary in the league, a hamstring then a week before we played Tipp in the championship.
So even though it wasn't my knee, it was other parts of your body screaming out loud because you hadn't played in so long.
Finally, 21 months after his last appearance for Cork in the 2017 All-Ireland semi-final against Waterford, the corner-forward got his chance against Limerick in mid-May.
It came at the expense of teammate Conor Lehane. Just minutes into the vital win against the reigning All-Ireland champions, Cadogan stepped off the bench to replace his fellow forward. It's a place he has not relinquished since.
"I was probably in a position that I didn't think I'd be coming on after six minutes," says Cadogan.
"Unfortunately for Conor but one door closes, thankfully it opened up for me."
Alan Cadogan was in attendance at the launch of Leisureplex’s ‘Share Your Summer’ campaign. Teens and students are in with a chance to win a range of prizes simply by sharing their Leisureplex experience on Social Media. There’s loads of activities to try out, including Bowling, Quasar, Pool Tables & Arcade Games. For more info visit www.leisureplex.ie. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
