The Mayo camp have been dealt a major blow ahead of the 2023 season, with Lee Keegan rumoured to be on the verge of announcing his retirement from intercounty football.
One of the great half-backs in the recent history of the game, Keegan is set to step away without an All-Ireland medal to his name.
New Mayo manager Kevin McStay will reportedly also have to plan for 2023 without Oisin Mullin, who may finally get his move to the AFL in Australia with the Geelong Cats.
Mayo GAA: Lee Keegan and Oisin Mullin rumoured to be out for 2023
The Connacht Telegraphy reported the rumours on Saturday morning, suggesting that both Lee Keegan and Oisin Mullin will be stepping away from the intercounty game before the 2023 season gets underway.
2016 player of the year Keegan is set to be on the verge of announcing his retirement from playing for Mayo, at the age of 33.
The Westport man, a five-time All Star winner, also holds the unfortunate record of coming out on the losing side on All-Ireland final day on six separate occasions, as part of the Mayo panels of 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021.
If the rumours are true, Lee Keegan will surely go down as one of the greatest players in Gaelic football history never to win an All-Ireland medal.
26 June 2022; A dejected Lee Keegan of Mayo after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-Final match between Kerry and Mayo at Croke Park, Dublin. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
To make matters worse for new boss Kevin McStay, it seems as though Keegan's teammate Oisin Mullin is also set to depart the Mayo camp ahead of the new intercounty season.
Mullin was on the verge of departing for the AFL for 2022, but a move to the Geelong Cats fell through. The same Connacht Telegraph report suggests that he will finally get his move to Australia ahead of 2023, leaving McStay without a two-time winner of young footballer of the year.
If the green and red are to end their 72-year wait for Sam Maguire in 2023, it seems as though they will have to do so without Lee Keegan and Oisin Mullin.
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