"I played lots of football with Sneem, South Kerry and Kerry, " he says. "Thank God, I've no niggles or aches these days. We never did weight training as such but I was always strong and managed to avoid injury. In fact, with all my years of football the most serious knock I picked up was bruised ribs during a game in New York."

According to Dr Doug Veale, genetic make-up and an element of luck in dodging particular injuries will help inter-county players avoid pain in later life.

"If a player breaks a bone close to a joint then there will be a much higher risk of arthritis. Two out of three inter-county players we spoke to had symptoms of arthritis so you can see there is a link with injury and arthritis."

Former Kerry midfielder and full-back, Sean Walsh, had his hip replaced three years ago at the age of 46.

"Towards the end of my playing career my joints would stiffen after a game and I found it more difficult to turn on the field, " he says.

"I had an x-ray on the hip and was told I had severe arthritis. I'd presume it was giving me trouble as a result of wear and tear." Walsh's former teammate, John O'Keeffe, has also experienced hip problems and Dr Veale believes one way in helping reduce strain on today's inter-county players is to address the issue of teams playing and training on hard pitches in high summer.

"Running and jumping on hard ground over long periods will affect the back, the knees and hips.

"Players we surveyed indicated one solution may be to water pitches more frequently in the summer. They felt strongly about playing on hard ground."