Sligo defender Naughton sidelined
Sligo corner-back Patrick Naughton is to undergo surgery on a cruciate knee injury, meaning him will miss up to six months of the new season.
The 24-year-old Castleconnor clubman, who played in all five of the Yeats county's championship matches last summer, injured his knee whilst playing against St Mary's in a club match recently.
Sligo manager Dom Corrigan is already planning for the FBD League and the majority of the National League without midfielder and captain Eamonn O'Hara.
The Tourlestrane star, who played only two full championship games - against Leitrim and Longford - in 2005, recently went under the knife to repair his left knee, having severed a cruciate knee ligament and suffered cartilage damage against Kildare in July.
Corrigan said: "Eamonn has undergone a cruciate ligament operation while Patrick will undergo similar surgery later this month. There is a lengthy recovery process involved here and it's unfortunate that, for now, we have to plan without two such talented players."
Karol O'Neill is also on Sligo's injury list - the Coolera-Strandhill defender is due for surgery on a Gilmore's Groin problem in the next fortnight. One boost for the Yeats men is Australian Loughlan Ferguson, an Enniskillen-based rugby coach, who has been brought in by Corrigan as a fitness coach.
Sligo take on Galway - their Connacht SFC quarter-final opponents next May - in their FBD League opener in Tuam on Sunday.
