Oisin Savage injury update given by club as Down boss Conor Laverty hails squad fitness

Down attacker Oisin Savage suffered a broken jaw in the closing stages of Sunday’s Tailteann Cup win over Sligo.

The Loughinisland clubman was treated by medics at Croke Park before spending Sunday evening in hospital.

Sligo defender Nathan Mullen was issued a straight red card for the challenge with the Mournemen going on to win the game in extra-time.

Read more: Antrim star Ryan Murray slapped with 12-week ban after incident in Tailteann Cup win over Fermanagh

Read more: Sean Cavanagh column: Mickey Harte is in his element when in charge of a team that has been written off

However, with Savage expected to undergo surgery in the coming says, Down will be without the 21-year-old for next month’s decider against Laois at Croke Park.

Speaking to RTÉ after the game, Laverty felt the sending off had a massive impact, but hailed his side’s fitness.

“It was a titanic battle, but I felt our fitness showed through,” stated Laverty.

"The red card probably changed the game then. Sligo had a good foothold in the game. It probably gave us momentum, getting into the last 10 minutes of the game.

"I think football's very like that at the minute, that whenever the momentum swings, it's very hard to get it back. But credit to the lads now that dug in, and we've done a serious amount of training now.

"We're extremely fit. We've put these boys to the well an awful amount of times, and it says they got there that, you know, it comes through then."

Laverty also praised the performance of Pat Havern with the Down ace scoring 0-7 in Sunday’s victory.

"Pat (Havern) was brilliant,” added Laverty.

“The past few times we came to Croke Park...I probably challenged him this week that he needed to perform.

"He's probably dipped below his own standards whenever we've been here, and I thought he showed real leadership whenever we needed him in that first half.

"He's a very resilient lad. In my term he's the lad who has been playing the most. He never misses training, he is always on the training pitch, night after night, playing every McKenna Cup game, every league game.I don't think he's missed a match."

Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox