Former Waterford football manager John Kiely has returned to full health after battling a serious injury.

One of the great characters of the GAA, Kiely lost three-and-a-half stone after contracting a mystery virus.

He told the Irish Sun: "The day Waterford won promotion against Clare in the league, I was talking to the players afterwards. I knew by their reaction that they were shocked when they saw the state of me.

"I went into hospital in Waterford and I was there for a month. I thought I had the bad thing. After a further three weeks' investigation, they discovered I had a form of arthritis, in the shape of a virus of the blood.

"I got the proper medication and started to feel better in about three days. I feel like I did 40 years ago, 100 per cent."

Kiely, who was replaced by John Owens as Waterford manager this year, isn't ruling out the prospect of returning to management in the future.

"I am still going to matches and talking to people about football every day. You never know, I might be involved somewhere again." Tweet

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