Danny Hughes isn't losing hope in his battle to be fit for Down's Ulster SFC quarter-final against Fermanagh on June 3.

The 2010 All Star half forward missed the tail end of the Allianz Football League with a hamstring problem, and the injury continues to keep him sidelined with just a month to go to the championship opener in Brewster Park.

"I would hope that in a couple of weeks I'll be kicking a ball," he told the Irish News at yesterday's Ulster SFC launch in Belfast's Titanic Signature Building.

"The physio is very, very good and she's doing a lot of work with me so things seem to be going okay. I'm doing a bit of bike work, I'm out jogging and getting up the half pace and I'll hope to get a run out with Saval before the Fermanagh match, just to get me up to some kind of fitness."

Now 30, Hughes says he is prepared to take up yoga and pilates in a bid to extend his career.

"Having an injury is definitely hard to get used to, it's very frustrating and it's something that's hard to accept - I hadn't missed a game for Down for years and years," he added.

"Hopefully, I'll get over this and there's a lot of new techniques likes pilates and yoga, so I'll have to get used to doing that kind of stuff because it's all about injury prevention.

"I find that stuff incredibly boring, but for the longevity of my career I'm going to have to get into it - just so I get as many more years out of football as I possibly can." Tweet

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