by Declan Rooney

Shane Walsh has backed his county colleague Paul Conroy to come back even stronger following his double leg break against Kerry at the weekend.

Walsh has been in top form all summer for Galway as they were crowned Connacht champions, beat Mayo and Roscommon on the way, and then got their Super 8s All-Ireland quarter-final campaign off to a winning start against Kerry at Croke Park on Sunday.

That win was marred by Conroy's injury, which has ruled him out of the rest of the summer, but Walsh (25) believes that his former captain will still make a huge impact for Galway off the field.

"I was chatting to Paul this morning. I think he was still a bit groggy from the drugs but I'm sure that the injury is a big disappointment for him," said Walsh, who was named PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for June.

"He loves to be in with the rest of us, but he just has to mind himself and go 100 per cent at it and get back and do his rehabilitation.

"Going forward hopefully he'll be there to offer his words of wisdom and give encouragement to the group. He's been doing that all year round for the last five or six years and I know he'd like to continue that.

"Gary O'Donnell lives near him and I'm sure he'll bring him to training and that'll keep him involved and he'll still have a big impact."

Without Conroy to call on Galway will hope to claim a second win in a week when they head to Newbridge to face Kildare this weekend. A win there could guarantee them a place in the All-Ireland semi-final, depending on how the game between Kerry and Monaghan turns out in Clones, but Walsh is wary of what awaits his own team.

In the 'Newbridge or nowhere' row earlier this summer, Kildare succeeded in retaining home advantage in the qualifiers when paired with Mayo, and ultimately defeated the Connacht outfit. Walsh is well aware of the perils of such a clash.

"We have been literally just concentrating on the Kerry game last Sunday and now we've turned to Kildare and getting ready in that quick turnaround. Going to Newbridge is a massive test again for us," said the Kilkerrin/Clonberne club man.

"We have seen the warning signs of what Newbridge is like - especially for Connacht team going up there - so we know fully what to expect on Sunday.

"Kildare are going to be coming in battling for their lives to stay in Super 8s so we have to try and be aware of what Newbridge brings as their home ground. That's the benefit of having your second game as your home game: you get a chance to redeem yourself. Kerry don't have that this week and they have a really tough game up in Monaghan.

"We played there in our last league game but this will be is completely different. Kildare knew they were relegated already and we knew we were in the league final, so this will be completely different mindset as regards what we are now stepping into.

"They've had a huge momentum swing towards them, but they had a bump in the road on Sunday. We haven't had that bump in the road and I hope we won't hit it on Sunday either but we know well that could be a bump somewhere.

"We have to go in with here with our focus fully on this job and on the task ahead."

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