Jonny Evans: Defender to miss international window says Brendan Rodgers
- Published
Evans was forced off in the first half of Leicester's FA Cup final triumph over Chelsea in May
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers says Jonny Evans will not travel with Northern Ireland in the upcoming international window, despite being named in Ian Baraclough's squad.
Defender Evans has not played since injuring his foot in May's FA Cup final, but was included by Baraclough for next month's triple-header.
The NI manager acknowledged that Evans was a "big doubt" for the fixtures.
Rodgers says the defender will remain at Leicester to continue his recovery.
"I spoke to Ian last week and Jonny was in the squad in the scenario that he made a miraculous recovery," he said.
"But the reality is that he won't be fit, so he won't travel. We want him back in training over the international break. He will stay at home."
With 91 international caps, Evans is a key figure in the NI set-up and his loss would be a sizeable blow to the side with crucial World Cup qualifiers against Lithuania and Switzerland on 2 and 8 September.
Having selected Evans in his 25-man squad Baraclough said there was a "contingency plan" if the centre-back was unfit to play, adding that he would not be risked if there was a threat of prolonging his injury.
Rodgers is hopeful that the 33-year-old will return to training next week.
Evans' brother Corry also remains a doubt for the international window having missed Sunderland's last two matches with a hamstring injury.
Northern Ireland, sitting third in Group C with one point from their two opening matches, travel to Vilnius to face Lithuania before a friendly against Estonia in Tallinn three days later.
They will then return to Belfast to host Switzerland at Windsor Park, with 16,000 fans permitted to attend the fixture.