Tom Kelly could yet feature for Laois in this year's football championship after returning to training last Tuesday night. It was the former All-Star centre back's first involvement with the O'Moore County squad since he underwent a cruciate ligament operation last autumn. And while next Saturday's Leinster SFC semi-final against Kildare in Tullamore is likely to come too soon for him, he might yet play some part in either the All-Ireland qualifiers or the Leinster final, were Laois to make it that far. "Tom did a bit of light jogging on Tuesday night, and it was fantastic to have him back," Laois selector Dermot Murphy said. "He obviously has a lot of work to do to get his fitness and football sharpness back, but the prospect of Tom having a jersey on his back once again is a great lift for everybody associated with the team. "It's early days yet, but, hopefully, if we have a good championship run this summer, Tom will be able to make some contribution to it." Kelly's fellow defenders Padraig McMahon and Joe Higgins also look set to miss the meeting with the Lilywhites. McMahon has been out of action since breaking his arm in a challenge match against Offaly at the start of May, while Higgins continues to struggle with a hip problem which forced him to sit out training on Tuesday night. Tweet

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