New Galway football manager Alan Mulholland has confirmed that Nicky Joyce will be part of his plans in the coming season.

The highly-rated Killererin attacker, who is a cousin of long-serving star Padraic, didn't feature under Tomas O Flatharta last year, but is poised to make his return to action in the next few weeks.

"Nicky is back doing a bit of gym work with us. Hopefully he will be available for the year. We asked him to come in and do a bit of training and he has done his plan before Christmas. We want to have him with us in the panel so hopefully he will be in a position to put in the effort," Mulholland explained.

Galway will be the first inter-county team to make their competitive 2012 bow when they face Sligo IT in the opening round of the Connacht FBD League at the Connacht Council's new Centre of Excellence in Ballyhaunis this evening (6.30pm). The game will be followed by the meeting of Kevin Walsh's Sligo and NUIG in the same competition (8pm). Tweet

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