It's always scary when a diagnosis for an injury or illness comes late, and is worse than you feared. When Oisin O'Brien boarded a plane for Austria the day after the league final - the last thing he expected was to be rushed to the hospital on arrival.
The Clare defender missed the Allianz League final victory over Waterford after being in some discomfort before the start of the game. He went to hospital in Clonmel post-match, and believed he was ok to travel to see his girlfriend in Austria.
It wasn't until he was in the air that the medical report revealed he has a punctured lung. There were ten missed calls before the Clare hurling staff were able to contact O'Brien and tell him to get to a hospital quickly. He needed emergency surgery, and stayed under care for four days. That's scary.
Clare manager Davy Fitzgerald revealed exactly what happened with O'Brien on the day of the game, including the panic that came about after the medical report came back:
He was putting on his jersey. There was a bit of panic inside because he couldn't breathe. And being Oisín, he tried to come out on the field and he couldn't breathe.
I had to walk him in out of the field that day. He was on his knees inside in the dressing-room.
It's not clear how or why O'Brien was able to leave Clonmel hospital before the medical report came back with something serious.
He was actually out in Austria when we got the results back from the hospital.
O'Brien's injury was so bad that he couldn't risk getting another plane back home - he had to go by train and boat.
Fortunately for O'Brien, there won't be many lasting effects. He has already returned to training, and is in line to return to play against Waterford in the Munster SHC semi-final next weekend.
[Hogan Stand]
