The unwavering dedication of club GAA players summed up by Dublin dual star’s cruciate knee horror

Arlene Cushen's dodgy knee sums up the madness and the beauty of the GAA.

The Dublin dual star is one of the best players to emerge from the capital over the last decade, and has also survived two serious knee injuries to be a key player for the county's footballers and camogie teams. She initially suffered a devastating cruciate injury to her knee when she was just starting out in college, but three years later, she was once again struck down by the same injury for her club Na Fianna just weeks before a league final. Unfortunately for Cushen, she had no idea she suffered the injury and ploughed on to play a league final with a seriously damaged knee held together by heavy strapping. She told 98fm's GAA podcast how nothing, not even the worst knee injury imaginable, was going to stop her helping her club win a league final.

"At first, I didn't think it actually was my cruciate. I actually ended up playing a league final a month later. I was thrown in corner-back with a strapped knee. We won the league final and I found after the MRI that it was actually the cruciate. The second time was definitely a lot tougher; physically it took a lot longer get back. Mentally it got to me; it's tough to motivate yourself to do that hard work."

Cushen played the game thanks in part to medical help from a physiotherapist friend, as well as the classic GAA tradition of  anyone injured being slotted in at being a corner-back, where we would have thought being able to run and twist would have been vitally important.

"It wasn't as painful as the first time, and I had about a month after I did it. I have a friend who was a physio who helped me build strength in it and it was heavily strapped. I don't know how I managed but all I wanted to do was play the game. I held off going for the MRI to play the game."

Cushen's story is just another example of a GAA player not willing to let anything, even their long-term health, get in the way of their dedication to their club. Cover Pic: Dublin camogie