Euro 2024 qualifiers: Strikers Shayne Lavery and Dale Taylor forced out of Northern Ireland squad

Lavery limped off during Blackpool's defeat by Lincoln last weekend

Strikers Shayne Lavery and Dale Taylor have been ruled out of the Northern Ireland squad for their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Blackpool's Lavery, 24, has a hamstring injury while 19-year-old Taylor, on loan at Wycombe Wanderers from Nottingham Forest, has a calf problem.

Wigan Athletic winger Jordan Jones and Bolton Wanderers defender Eoin Toal have been called up by Michael O'Neill.

Brodie Spencer also joins the senior squad from the Under 21s.

Northern Ireland, fifth in Group H, face Slovenia in Ljubljana on 7 September before travelling to Astana to take on Kazakhstan three days later.

Lavery and Taylor join a long list of players unavailable to manager O'Neill for the away double-header, with Conor Bradley, Jamal Lewis and Aaron Donnelly joining long-term absentees Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Shane Ferguson and Corry Evans on the sidelines.

Lavery hobbled off during Blackpool's 3-0 defeat by Lincoln last weekend but was named by O'Neill in his squad on Tuesday.

Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said on Friday that, while the former Linfield forward's injury is not as bad as first feared, it is enough to rule him out of the Seasiders' match against Wigan this weekend and the international window that follows.

"He'll miss this weekend, he's OK but he'll miss international duty as well," Critchley said.

"It's not a long-term one which means bringing him off at the stage we did, which we didn't want to do, might have saved him from a longer term injury. We're expecting it to be a couple of weeks at the most."