Dan Ballard is set to miss Northern Ireland’s crucial World Cup play-off semi-final against Italy on Thursday because of a hamstring injury.
The Sunderland defender was forced off during his side’s Premier League defeat by Brighton on 14 March and missed Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle.
Neither Sunderland nor the Irish FA have formally announced he will be unavailable, but an update on Ballard’s condition is expected later on Monday.
It is unclear at this stage whether Ballard could be fit for a potential play-off final against Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina should Michael O’Neill’s side win in Bergamo.
Northern Ireland are already without Liverpool defender Conor Bradley, although Ali McCann did link up with his international team-mates when the squad met on Sunday evening.
Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali also missed the Tyne-Wear derby through injury, with the four-time World Cup winners continuing to monitor his fitness before the play-off.
Leave a Reply