Colm Cooper doesn't think Diarmuid Connolly will feature against a Mayo team that has "no fear" of Dublin.
Connolly played his first championship match for the Dubs in almost two years in last Saturday’s Super 8s win over Tyrone in Omagh.
Speaking on the latest episode of the RTÉ GAA Podcast, eight-time All Star Cooper said he doesn’t think Connolly will be considered for Saturday’s do-or-die All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Mayo at Croke Park.
"I’m not convinced," he said. "I think Jim Gavin played him in a loose role last week just to get him back into the fray and he tried a few nice passes.
"He did fine, nothing spectacular. It took him a while to get up to the pace of the game, but to see him put into a game like this next weekend, I don’t see it happening."
However, Dessie Dolan, also speaking on the RTÉ GAA Podcast, took a different view and thinks that the 32-year-old Connolly could have a role to play.
"I’d love to see him in," said Dolan. "Any time you get the chance to see Diarmuid Connolly is a good day.
"I think it depends on the circumstances – if you just need something different in a close match, he’ll offer something. He can do things that other players can’t do so I think he’s worth the risk."
This will be the eighth meeting of Dublin and Mayo in the past nine seasons as the Dubs chase their fifth All-Ireland title in a row.
Dublin have won four of those meetings, there have been two draws and one Mayo win, but Cooper still feels that the Green Above the Red will travel to the capital with no fear.
They beat Donegal in Castlebar last weekend to secure their place in the final four so they will have to deal with tired bodies and a mounting injury list.
"They're an experienced team so I don’t think the turnaround will affect them," said Cooper.
"James Horan has been down this road before and he’ll have his players right. There’ll be no training done this week and the players will be fine on Saturday night.
"I think the long-term injuries might be a problem though and as if they didn’t have enough, Jason Doherty has done his cruciate so that’s another huge loss for them.
"It’s a big task asking them to go to Croke Park and topple the Dubs, but if there’s one team that doesn’t fear Dublin, it’s Mayo – they’ll actually look forward to the challenge.
"Most teams go into games against the Dubs without the belief they can win and challenge. Mayo have proven that they can do this and that’s what makes this such an interesting encounter this weekend."
Follow Dublin v Mayo (Saturday, 5pm) and Kerry v Tyrone (Sunday, 3.30pm) via our live blogs on RTÉ.ie and the News Now app, watch live on RTÉ2 or listen to radio commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta
