Cork senior footballer Ciarán Sheehan says the GAA are right to be in no rush back to the playing fields, with the Covid-19 pandemic still ongoing.
The former Aussie Rules star is back in action with the Rebels, who saw their Allianz Leagues Division Three campaign come to a halt when games were stopped.
And with GAA President John Horan saying no matches were likely before October, Sheehan told Ger and Eoin on OTB AM that he agress there should be no rush whatsoever.
"I think it's very easy to get caught up in saying 'Let's go right back into it, let's come up with a plan now', but you have to be very careful.
"John Horan made a very good point about the social distancing - is it really feasible to put 30 lads out against each other when there's social distancing in place? I wouldn't think so.
"I tend to agree with John on that one. I'd be hoping, and trying to be as optimistic as possible, that we'd get some GAA this year. My gut feeling at the moment is leaning towards potentially not.
"We're going through the phases and people are out and about a bit more, then the pressure comes on. There's a lot of pressure for the GAA to act on it and for something to happen.
"I think there might be something to come back, but to the level of inter-county championship? I just can't see it happening to be honest. From a club point of view you'd maybe squeeze something in, but you're putting a lot of pressure on guys.
"You have to think of player welfare - if you're trying to squeeze a season out from October to December or January, does that put a lot of pressure on guys straight away?
11 January 2020; Ciarán Sheehan of Cork in action against Limerick's Tony McCarthy and Robert Childs, right, during the McGrath Cup Final match between Cork and Limerick at LIT Gaelic Grounds in Limerick. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile"Obviously everyone wants to get back and there's an urgency to get back, but I think we just have to tread water for a bit until the right measures are in place and everyone feels safe to do so."
Sheehan also spoke about the key difference in the GAA's eventual return compared to other sports - and how amateurism makes the GAA case much different.
"I think the professional thing is the big gap here. There are an awful lot of things to consider when it comes to insurance, the responsibility of coaches... the GAA community is so wide that it's very hard to manage all the different people and things that clubs are going to do.
"It's changing from week-to-week and from month-to-month. Who knows, there could be a vaccine in a couple of months. Of course we're all eager to get back playing, but in many ways it's life or death so we have to be really careful in how we manage it, which I'm sure the GAA are doing."
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