Down football supremo James McCartan is hopeful that ace midfielder Dan Gordon will soon guillotine his own self-imposed sabbatical from the Mourne County senior squad.

Gordon recently took a decision to take an indefinite break from the game but McCartan is keeping his fingers crossed that his return to the fold will come sooner rather than later.

"Dan's asked for a break and he's only had a few weeks," said McCartan.

"I was talking to him a couple of weeks ago, but I suppose I don't want to fluff my lines when I make my approach.

"I'm trying to ensure that he's had a decent break. I don't want him turning around and saying: 'James, you never gave me much of a break'.

"Dan is very much in the loop. In his mind, he's taking a break - in our minds he's very much part of our panel and our plans and I know Paddy Tally passed on a training programme to him and he's accepted it, so that's positive in my eyes. I hope it's a timing issue." Tweet

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