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4th August 2022
02:11pm BST

"I had great advice as well, from the specialists I saw, the physios, Mickey Comerford, the Kilkenny S and C coach. It is a lot easier when you have these people around you making sure that you are doing the right thing. They designed a plan that allowed me to perform on the day. And look, it went well, I performed well even though I was half-injured. After the club final, it was 12 weeks of rehab and the lads did a great job getting me ready, really and at peak fitness for Kilkenny then"
"For me, the appetite was a big thing as well. I hadn't hurled in so long before some of those games so I was hungry to hurl."
And even after losing last month's final to Limerick, and having lost his mentor in Brian Cody, Kilkenny people will be delighted to know that he's still got that hunger.
"I told the boys that I'll go for as long as I can. Once the body is able to take you there, and you're injury free - touch wood... I'm as fit and strong now as I was back at 24. I'm 34 now heading into 35. I have great confidence in my fitness. That's a huge help."
As for Cody's departure, TJ says he was emotional to see the great man leave.
"He sent a personal message to all the players on WhatsApp before the announcement was made. The Whatsapp group can be a daunting place every year because you get lads messaging in to retire so we went through a good few retirements in the last couple of years.
"Look, it's emotional stuff. These guys give everything to the jersey and you become great friends with these people. And Brian is the leader of us all and you'd have to look at it twice to believe it and make sure that it was from Brian. It was a sad day for us all and we all acknowledged his work for Kilkenny and the county board. It was a very emotional day."
"He's left Kilkenny hurling in a great place. The mentality that's there, the attitude around the dressing room, he's built standards that have to be kept.
"He'll be missed on the sideline, and that Avonmore peak cap will be treasured forever."
[caption id="attachment_269072" align="alignnone" width="800"]
All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Finalists; Kilkenny’s T.J. Reid and Limerick’s Aaron Gillane, pictured in Croke Park to celebrate that Littlewoods Ireland has rebranded to Very. Littlewoods Ireland is now Very, as part of this rebrand customers can now shop over 1800 brands on Very.ie. To find out more about Very, visit Very.ie and follow the conversation on social with #HelloVery, on Instagram (@very.ireland) and Twitter (@very_ireland).[/caption]
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