Sunday April 5th, 2015 was a day Colm Cooper had been anticipating for more than a year. It was the day he returned to inter-county action, coming on as a sub in Kerry's Allianz League draw against Tyrone. 14 months earlier, in the All-Ireland Club semi-final between Dr. Crokes and Castlebar Mitchels, the Gooch had ruptured his ACL, torn his PCL and fractured his kneecap.
To coincide with the comeback, AIB has released a mini documentary detailing his road to recovery. It contains the revelation that there was a real chance he could have seen action during last September's All-Ireland final between Kerry and Donegal.
Cooper was part of the panel for the All-Ireland semi-final replay against Mayo three weeks prior to the final and through hard work with his physio was available as an option to Eamonn Fitzmaurice. Had circumstances in the game been different, he could have come on for 10 minutes. Many thought at the time that the inclusion of the four-time All-Ireland was simply mind games from the Kerry manager.
