Dr Crokes' Kerry contingent won't be returning to the intercounty fold until after St Patrick's Day.

The Kerry and Munster champions have sealed an All-Ireland Club SFC date with Slaughtneil of Derry on March 17th and will continue to train with their club exclusively under ex-Kingdom boss Pat O'Shea, according to midfielder Johnny Buckley.

Club captain Buckley, Colm Cooper, Fionn Fitzgerald, Tony Brosnan and Gavin White were all part of Kerry's championship squad last summer. But Buckley can't see them being drafted back in for the forthcoming league clashes with Monaghan or Roscommon:

"I would think the club will be our sole focus," he told The Irish Examiner. "We're fully with Crokes. We talked to Eamonn [Fitzmaurice] before the semi-final and he was very obliging. We might have another chat with him and see how we go."

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