“I was horrible, I was agitated” – Dublin star details his recovery after brutal assault

Following his first match for Dublin in 10 months, Ryan O'Dwyer detailed his long road to recovery following a vicious assault in Birmingham.

While supporting Ireland at last Autumn's World Cup, the Tipperary-born hurler was punched in the side of the head, breaking his jaw as he hit the ground, fracturing his skull and suffering a bleed on the brain. He has previously admitted he considered giving up hurling as he struggled with his recovery but, after coming on during the second half of Dublin's comfortable Leinster SHC quarter-final win over Wexford, he expressed his delight. Or at least he tried to. "I don’t think there’s any words to describe how I feel just to get back on the pitch. That was a goal for me and now I want to go on from that," said the Kilmacud Crokes clubman, who admits he struggled to come to terms with his injury.

“My personality totally changed (during the recovery). I was horrible, I was agitated. Thank god the doctor said that this is a side effect, that I’d be irritable, I’d be aggressive," O'Dwyer told the42.ie. "I went through every emotion there was to go through. At times I was ready to throw in the towel."

Following a couple of club matches, that was only O'Dwyer's third game of the year and Dublin manager Ger Cunningham will be delighted to have the forceful wing-forward available to him ahead of their June 11th meeting with reigning All-Ireland champions Kilkenny.