Kerry open their National League campaign against the reigning Ulster champions Donegal this Sunday, and more than ever, all eyes will be on The Kingdom.
Normally the National League gathers a huge amount of interest as it's the first form of competitive county football that fans get to enjoy, but this season, it will also showcase the new enhancements brought in by the Football Rules Committee.
The game as we know it could be completely different, and the last six months have been filled with hypothesis, theories and tactical suggestions, but this weekend, we finally get to see what the future might hold.
With all of this in mind, it is interesting to learn that David Clifford won't be in the Kerry panel for the opening weeks of the campaign.
Jack O'Connor explains to The Kerryman that injury isn't the reason behind their star man's absence.
READ HERE: “Tom Was Playing Football During The Dublin Championship” – Dual Star Lights It Up For Na Fianna
READ HERE: Joe Brolly Explains What Peter Canavan Had Over His Sons As A Player…So Far
“The likes of David Clifford won’t be featuring for the first two games, more or less.
“David doesn’t have an injury, he is just working away himself. We just decided to give him an extended break, and he will have had a good break by the time he comes back.
“He will have had the bones of three months I would say, I think he finished mid-October, so November, December, January, February, more than three months.
"Paudie [Clifford] is just back in the last week or so, he has a couple of sessions done, but again, he wouldn’t have enough done to consider starting him on Sunday.
“Paul Geaney has a bit of an injury issue, he kind of had it with the club, and he’s still nursing that."
Since breaking onto the Kerry team as a teenager, the trajectory of Clifford's career has been rapidly upward, as he consistently reached new heights and accomplished new feats on a yearly basis.
However, last year was the first time that the Fossa man's performances were questioned, and after almost three years without a pre-season under his belt due to extended county runs, and club campaigns that went on through the winter, the freakishly fantastic forward started to look human.
This was clearly highlighted by the player and management, so the decision to go away on his own, get the body and mind right, can only be bad news for the opposition as he could enter the 2025 season with fresh legs, focused mindset, and new rules that favour forwards - and he is arguably the best forward in the business.
