Former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty has been called up by Northern Ireland.
The 32-year-old was initially excluded from the extended squad to face Luxembourg and Germany over the coming days.
However, a change in his circumstances at club level and concerns around other forwards have prompted a Michael O’Neill U-turn.
What’s more, the manager claims that he’s now guaranteed at least some game time over the two fixtures.
Lafferty recently signed for Norwegian club, Sarpsborg and while he was sent off on debut, O’Neill saw the outing as a positive for his international chances.
Former Rangers man Lafferty handed spot by N.I manager
“Kyle, having played 67 minutes at the weekend, is in a little bit better shape,” said O’Neill, as quoted by the Belfast Telegraph. “We can give him some more minutes tomorrow night [tonight against Luxembourg] and then see where he is at. We have an injury doubt with Liam Boyce and Will Grigg was unavailable for personal reasons.”
“(Lafferty) wasn’t in the original squad because he didn’t have a club…He played for us in the two games in March and contributed a lot for the 65 minutes he had in his legs. He’s not going to be what he has the potential to be but he can contribute. We’ll see how long that is when we make our decision on the team.”
Verdict
This call-up will be a big boost for Lafferty after a difficult first taste of club football in Norway.
In the past, international duty has been an escape from problems at club level. Particularly during Euro 2016 qualifying, when he scored seven times for Northern Ireland despite being largely frozen out of first-team operations at Norwich City.
Recently, though, he’s been struggling in both arenas. While he enjoyed a highly decorated first stint with Rangers, he wasn’t up to scratch last season and it was no surprise to see him leave this summer.
He’s also gone over two years since scoring for his country. The last time he found the back of the net at Windsor Park was in a 4-0 victory over Azerbaijan in November 2016.
The big striker will be hoping that whether he starts or comes on as a substitute on Thursday evening, he can finally end that international drought, as he strives to get his career back on track.
