Jim Gavin is hopeful that Diarmuid Connolly will return to the Dublin panel this season, after missing out on Dublin's league final victory over Galway at the weekend.
Connolly was a notable absentee in Dublin's match day squad, which sparked speculation about his future with the county team for 2018.
A report was published in the Sunday Times this weekend which said that the St Vincent's clubman is 'currently not interested in playing hurling and football, at any level; at the moment, he is taking a complete break from everything.' The report also claims that he is not training with his club St Vincent's at the moment either.
When asked by RTÉ Sport after the win over Galway if Connolly potentially opting out of any inter-county games this season was a fair reflection of the situation, Gavin replied:
"No it's not... Simple as that, yeah."
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Speaking to other members of the media in the aftermath of the game, Gavin said that he had reached an agreement with Connolly that he should take a rest.
Gavin is quoted by Independent.ie Sport as saying:
"His status at the moment is that both Diarmuid and I agreed that what was best was that he would take a rest over these games.
"He has had a long number of years playing senior inter-county football, as have a lot of this group, so that decision was made in his best interests."
When asked if Connolly would be rejoining the squad this season, he said:
"Please God."
Speaking on Morning Ireland on Monday, former Armagh footballer and GAA analyst Oisín McConville said that a break would be good for Connolly.
"I think Diarmuid Connolly has been on the go at both club and county level for some time now. I think the break will have done him absolutely no harm, it may reinvigorate him and I suppose what Jim Gavin wants is that if Diarmuid Connolly is going to come back into this set-up that he's learned a few lessons first and foremost.
"But also, he is the player with the greatest ability not only in that Dublin squad but in the whole of the country and when he's on, he's on. For any manager in the country, they'd want Diarmuid Connolly in and around the set-up."
Jim Gavin is amazed by his Dublin team's incessant desire and hunger #RTEgaa pic.twitter.com/Rivr2Acu9E
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) April 1, 2018
He added:
"I think he's probably frustrated because he hasn't played a lot in the last 12 or 18 months through one thing or another. I think he'd be determined that if does get back in there that he doesn't want to be a bit part of the team, he wants to be the centre of attention again.
"That's up to Diarmuid and that's up to Jim Gavin to sort out whatever is going on. If you were Jim Gavin, of course you'd want him back in your team, but you want him back at 100%, and you want him back with the right attitude. If they can do that, we're talking about a Dublin team that maybe are falling a little bit short of their own standards at the minute and yet still winning.
"You can put Diarmuid Connolly along with six or seven others who could possibly go into that team and make a serious difference."
