Jonny Evans: Leicester defender out of Northern Ireland's qualifier in Switzerland
- Published
Jonny Evans has made only two appearances for Leicester this season
World Cup 2022 qualifiers - Switzerland v NI & Bulgaria v NI |
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Venues: Geneva & Sofia Dates: Saturday, 9 October & Tuesday, 12 October |
Coverage: Live radio and text commentary of both games online; Highlights on BBC One NI and BBC iPlayer at 22:35 BST |
Jonny Evans' expected absence for Northern Ireland's vital World Cup qualifier against Switzerland on Saturday has been confirmed.
The experienced defender has only played two games for Leicester this season because of a foot injury.
The Irish FA said on Thursday that Evans, 33, had not travelled with the Northern Ireland squad to Geneva.
Evans' brother Corry, Shayne Lavery, Ali McCann, Gavin Whyte, Michael Smith and Trevor Carson are already out.
Whyte is unavailable after testing positive for Covid with Lavery, McCann, Smith, Carson and Corry Evans all missing out through injury.
Leicester defender Evans missed September's qualifiers with Lithuania and Switzerland because of his injury but manager Ian Baraclough suggested on Wednesday that he "possibly" could play a part in Tuesday's game against Bulgaria in Sofia.
On the plus side, Baraclough has been boosted by the return of Stuart Dallas, who missed September's games because of personal reasons.
Northern Ireland sit three points behind the second-placed Swiss in Group C and level with Bulgaria, with European champions Italy leading the table by six points.