Daniel Flynn's AFL club Port Adelaide have left the door open for him to return but accept that it is unlikely to happen.

Flynn returned to Ireland on Saturday and trained with the Kildare U-21s on Sunday ahead of their Leinster-quarter final tomorrow night.

The Johnstownbridge man had signed a two-year rookie contract but the club revealed that he had been suffering from homesickness for some time. His return after just four months is longer than the six weeks that both Ciaran Kilkenny and Kyle Coney spent with Hawthorn and Sydney Swans respectively, but could prompt AFL clubs to rethink their strategy on signing Irish players.

Port Adelaide football operations manager Peter Rohde admitted it was unlikely that the 20-year-old would return.

"We'll keep working with Daniel, he has made a two-year commitment to us and he's on a long path but clearly it got to the stage where he was finding it very difficult to stay here,'' Rohde said.

"He has gone home for an extended period and we hope to get him back sometime during the season.'

"There's no hiding the fact he's battled homesickness all the way through. He won't be around for the immediate future and we'll monitor what happens from there.

"He's enjoyed his footy and the environment around the club but he finds that when he's not here at training he's missing home too much.''

Port Adelaide may he heartened by Ciaran Sheehan's decision to sign up with Carlton at the age of 23, years after he had initially intended joining the Melbourne club.

Flynn, who was targeted by six clubs throughout last year, made quite an impression in Adelaide and showed much potential in a recent NAB Challenge defeat to their rivals, the Adelaide Crows, at the Richmond Oval.

"He has developed probably much quicker than we would have hoped,'' Rohde said.

Just seven Irish players remain on AFL club books – Ciaran Sheehan (Cork), Pearce Hanley (Mayo), Ciaran Byrne (Louth), Tommy Walsh (Kerry), Martin Clarke (Down), Caolan Mooney (Down) and Zac Tuohy (Laois).

Irish Independent