Galway corner-back David Collins has admitted that he would be retired if it weren't for the career-threatening injury he suffered back in 2007.

The 32-year-old Liam Mellows clubman will hope to line-out in the Tribesmen's defence in next Sunday week's Leinster SHC quarter-final against Westmeath as he continues to make up for lost time, having missed out on two-and-a-half years as a result of the serious ankle problems he endured in the middle of his prime.

"Oh yeah, I'd be gone," Collins said in today's Irish Examiner. "I wouldn't be still hurling because I was so engrossed in hurling at the time. It was my life.

"I think it took over and it got to a stage where everything revolved around hurling. My relationships with family and friends all revolved around hurling. But then once I got the support of my family and friends, that was massive and you started thinking, 'Jesus, these people are still here for me even though I was being an absolute tool to them and being unfair on them and expecting everything from them.'

"I don't think I would still be hurling if I hadn't been injured at that time and been forced to think of life outside of it."

Last year saw Collins feature in his third All-Ireland SHC final when Galway went down to Kilkenny by 1-22 to 1-18 at Croke Park.

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