Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for June in football, Jordan Morris of Meath, with his award at PwC offices in Dublin.SPORTSFILE. JORDAN MORRIS 'I'm taking a bit of a risk, but with the year we're having, I couldn't miss out on it' Jordan Morris has returned from a significant injury to star for Meath. 6.30am, 9 Jul 2025 Share options THE EARLY PROGNOSIS left Jordan Morris thinking his season could be over in March. The Meath star forward was stretchered off after suffering a horror injury in their Division 2 league game against Louth, a fractured tibia and Grade 2 tears of the ACL and MCL later confirmed. But Morris is now relishing the Royals’ first All-Ireland semi-final since 2009 after leading the scoring charge against Galway. “Probably the overriding feeling straight after the Louth game was that was my year done,” he tells The 42 as he’s named PwC GAA/GPA Player of the Month for June. “It probably took maybe a week or a week and a half to get a full grasp of what happened. But the doctors and physios I was dealing with were very good, they laid out a pathway straightaway.” Ray Moran of Santry Sports Clinic was an outside expert consulted, advising rehabilitation rather than surgery. The Kingscourt Stars man also credits Meath strength and conditioning duo Philip Campbell and David Drake for helping him return to action as a substitute in the Leinster final defeat to Louth in May. Full circle. “I think I was given maybe eight weeks to get back on the pitch and I think I managed to get back in six. I’m taking a bit of a risk as it is, but with the year we’re having, I couldn’t miss out on it. I just was trying to do everything I could to get back on the panel and matchday squad. Advertisement Morris was stretchered off against Louth in the league in March.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO “I would have been rehabbing three times a day, injections and stuff like that to get back on the pitch. And then the S&C work you have to do — it’s mad within even a week of not playing how much you can lose a bit of match fitness. It was hard to go back to that level of game play.” What about that risk the 24-year-old mentions? “Basically I was told there’s maybe a 40% chance players who go back with a Grade 2 tear can fully rupture it. It’s probably a big enough risk. But as I said, there’s a 60% chance I won’t do it. “It is in the back of your mind at times. You just have to manage it as much as you can. I’m playing with a risk and I’m loving it at the minute so it’s great. It feels all good, all the work and the rehab is paying off.” While Morris missed the Leinster semi-final scalp against Dublin, he played his part in the famous wins over Kerry and Galway. After scoring 1-6 from play in a Man of the Match display against the Tribe, manager Robbie Brennan hailed his “genius”. He has flourished under the Dunboyne native, with the help of Gaelic football’s new rules, having hit 1-5 in Meath’s three previous All-Ireland series games. “Robbie gives you the freedom of the park,” Morris, who is studying Sport, Health and Science in TU Dublin, says. “He wants you to go out and try these different things. Meath manager Robbie Brennan.Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO “Look, if you make a few mistakes or turnovers, he’s not going to hold a grudge about it. He wants to see them creative turnovers, as he calls them. He’s probably had a good effect on my game, he’s allowing me to go out and express myself a bit more. It relieves a bit of pressure. You have to pay him back with a few scores as well, I suppose.” Morris points to another backroom staff member while talking about his own game, and its physical and mental challenges. He missed his first three shots in the opening 10 minutes against Galway, but didn’t let early wides or turnovers stop him from catching fire on the big stage. “I’ve probably done a good bit of work with Niall O’Donoghue, our performance coach, these past couple of years,” he explains. “The three misses… you just think about the next ball. If you can start thinking about them, it might ruin your game and it effects different things. The work I’ve done with Niall just proved to me that no matter what happens, it’s the next ball and that’s what I try to do anyway.” A creative live-wire, Morris could do anything with that next ball. A brilliantly-executed dummy hop did the rounds on social media after his superb quarter-final display — “It’s probably something I’ve worked on. I played a lot of basketball down through my younger years.” His club soccer background was also seen in an instinctive shot on the turn. Conor Gleeson saved that one, but Morris beat the Galway goalkeeper a minute later as he palmed home a killer blow. Arms outstretched on his knees in celebration, there followed an iconic image which encapsulates Meath’s magical summer. Morris celebrates his goal against Galway.James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO “No feeling will ever (compare), or words will describe it,” Morris says on scoring a big crucial goal into Hill 16. “It’s something I’ve seen plenty of teams doing in the past. It’s something you probably only dream about really.” This whole year has been. Related Reads Here's this week's GAA inter-county schedule and TV coverage 'We're probably the only group in the country that thought we could make it this far' And it continues back in Croke Park against Donegal on Sunday. One game away from a first final since 2001. “I remember being on the Hill in 2010 when Meath won that Leinster (final) against Louth. That’s probably my earliest memory of Croke Park.” Morris concludes, removed somewhat from the hype across the border in Kingscourt but still seeing flashes of green and gold. “To get out on the field and cheer on your heroes, you think back to them days. Now, kids are looking up at the likes of the boys on our team. I was once one of those kids.” Now, living out his dreams. Against the odds faced back in March. 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