NOT since his All-Star form of 2022 has Damien Comer felt at the peak of his powers. And the Galway marksman believes the genesis of the injury woes that continue to plague him was the ankle damage he sustained in a charity soccer match on St Stephen’s Day in 2018. Comer marked his first outing of the season with a superb goal after being sprung from the bench in last month’s National League loss to Dublin. He also started in the defeat to Kerry next time out. The 31-year-old sat out the Connacht SFC quarter-final victory against New York after being advised by Galway’s medical team to avoid the physical toll that can be exacted by synthetic surfaces like the one at Gaelic Park. But Comer is hopeful of featuring in Sunday’s semi-final against Roscommon in Salthill as the Tribe look to earn a shot at a fourth provincial title on the spin. He said: “You just have to bide your time and make sure you have the work done. Last year was just the opposite. "It was kind of rushing back and playing when you're not right and you've very little work done. I didn’t want to go down the same rabbit hole this year." The hamstring problems that have tormented Comer resurfaced in last May’s win over Derry in the opening round of the All-Ireland group stage. On a day when he was a victim of what Galway boss Pádraic Joyce termed ‘a nasty stamp’ that saw Gareth McKinless sent off. Comer clarified it was a hamstring injury that forced him off in the second half and sidelined him until the quarter-final victory over Dublin. But the Annaghdown man explained: "I used to not pick up any niggles before I hurt my ankle, but since then it's been a knock-on effect. “Obviously it affects your running mechanics and stuff when you don't have the same mobility or power coming off your ankle. "It's an imbalance then. I've put a lot of work into it now so hopefully it's behind me." Having been forced to significantly curtail his involvement in training last year, Comer revealed that there has been a considerable improvement so far in 2025. He said: “Last year I could have been training once every two weeks, if even. That’s just the way it worked out. This year it's a lot better. “I’ve been gradually increasing it from the start of the league. I had to do six to eight weeks of a pre-season that I had kind of missed through injury.” Galway had to plan without Comer for most of this year’s Division 1 campaign as a result of a groin injury he picked up on club duty. He continued: “Management have been good at limiting minutes and being smart about different things to just try and give it the best chance. “It’s play it by feel more than anything. Some weeks you feel great and some weeks you don’t. You just try and get as much out of your body as you can.” With Galway suffering an All-Ireland final defeat for the second time in three seasons, Comer admits that 2024 was also ‘very frustrating’ on a personal level as he strived to get his body right. The secondary school teacher admitted: “My expectations were very high and they probably shouldn’t have been, considering the work I had done. “You're playing against lads who have probably done eight, nine months of work and you're struggling to get sessions in every two weeks, never mind every week.” The man-of-the-match performance in last summer’s dramatic Connacht final triumph at the expense of Mayo was evidence of his ability to overcome the physical hurdles he continues to encounter. But when asked when he was last able to be at his best, Comer said: “2023 wasn't great and last year was terrible altogether, so it was probably 2022. The last couple of years have been the worst by a mile." *DAMIEN COMER was speaking as Kellogg’s GAA Cúl Camps launched a unique camp – Cúl and Curious – to introduce children from migrant families to the joy of Gaelic Games and foster a sense of belonging within the GAA community. Visit www.kelloggsculcamps.gaa.ie for more info.