Reigning Footballer of the Year James O'Donoghue admits he'll have to prove himself all over again in the 2015 championship.

The Kerry attacker has been sidelined for six months after undergoing shoulder surgery in November and hasn't togged out for the Kingdom since last year's All-Ireland final against Donegal. He hopes to feature in their Munster SFC opener against Tipperary or Waterford on June 14th:

"I don't know how this year is going to go. Last year was fantastic, you know, but right now I just have my one goal: get on the team. It's like being a 'newbie' into the panel again," he notes in The Irish Times.

"But I think it's going to be very good for me, because I literally have to completely focus on every step at a time. A lot of fellas who've had good years have come back the following year and had poor ones. Because they haven't been able to find themselves again, at the same level.

"So I think for me, coming up from being injured and timing my form right is going to play into my hands, hopefully perfectly. That's what I'm going for, anyway.

"I've played a couple of internal games with Kerry, and two championship games with Killarney Legion, against Kerins O'Rahillys and Dr Crokes. I came on at half time against Rahillys and put down the worst ten minutes ever. I was absolutely all over the place. I couldn't even run. I don't know what was wrong with me. My brain wasn't working.

"Thank God, I blew that out of the system after ten minutes. I felt good after that. I feel ready now. I nicked a calf over the weekend, but that's always going to happen when you come back from six or seven months out. You're never going to come back completely smooth. It's all part of the rehab process. But I'll be training Tuesday night."

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