Good news for Mayo as Keith Higgins’ retirement via Twitter is confirmed as a prank

The 29-year-old will leave a big gap in the Mayo team

After the raft of big name GAA retirements in November and December we thought the worst was over but today brings us news of another star departing the scene. Mayo's Keith Higgins, a marvellous player of football and hurling, has announced his retirement from the inter-county game.

#callingitaday @MayoGAA pic.twitter.com/8V6kIbVxS2 — Keith Higgins (@keithhiggins7) December 27, 2014

Higgins was one of the best defenders in the game, and was versatile enough to play anywhere in defence, though he specialised in the corner. The three time All Star was a central part of the Mayo side that came oh-so-close under James Horan in recent years to ending the quest for Sam and his absence will be a big loss to the hopes of new management team Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes. More than a part of us hopes it is all a prank after he left his phone unattended somewhere but for now it seems the end for Higgins in green and red. UPDATE 16.51: Thankfully it was all a hoax, as has now been confirmed by the official Mayo GAA Twitter account. Good news for everyone bar the country's top forwards.

Thankfully we can say that Keith Higgins HAS NOT retired from Inter-County Football and we're looking forward to seeing him back soon! #gaa — Mayo GAA (@MayoGAA) December 27, 2014