Daniel Ballard to Miss World Cup Qualifiers Due to Injury
Defender Daniel Ballard will miss Northern Ireland’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Germany next month due to an injury.
The 25-year-old player was forced to leave the pitch during the first half of Sunderland’s 2-0 defeat to Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
After Sunderland's Carabao Cup loss to Huddersfield on Tuesday, manager Regis Le Bris indicated that while the injury is not deemed "long-term," Ballard will require some time off.
"It’s not too serious, so we expect him to be sidelined for two to three weeks," Le Bris stated on the club’s website.
Northern Ireland is scheduled to play Luxembourg away on September 4, followed by a match against Germany in Cologne three days later.
Additionally, head coach Michael O’Neill is already without first-choice goalkeeper Pierce Charles, who withdrew from the squad due to a shoulder injury sustained while playing for Sheffield Wednesday.