Shayne Lavery, a striker for Blackpool and Northern Ireland, is currently sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
Michael O’Neill, the manager of Northern Ireland, has voiced his displeasure with Shayne Lavery’s availability for his team’s current 2024 European Championship qualifying campaign.
The Ulstermen play Finland tonight and Denmark on Monday to wrap up their round of matches for the championship tournament next summer.
They’ll be hoping to salvage something from an otherwise disappointing campaign that has seen O’Neill’s team finish second from bottom in Group H with just two wins from eight games.
However, Blackpool striker Lavery, who has been recovering from a hamstring injury since the Seasiders’ FA Cup victory over Bromley on November 4, will once again be unavailable to Northern Ireland. Due to this, the 24-year-old has missed Blackpool’s last two games. As a result, he will be unable to play in tomorrow’s League One match against Shrewsbury.
Lavery was also forced to miss the September internationals against Kazakhstan and Slovenia due to a similar injury. However, at the beginning of the qualifying campaign back in March, he was unable to increase the number of international caps he had due to another hamstring issue.
As a result, this year the Bloomfield Road marksman will have only made two appearances for his nation. In his second stint leading Northern Ireland, that has proven to be frustrating for O’Neil.
The former Stoke manager stated, “The squad is very similar to what the previous game was,” prior to tonight’s match in Helsinki. Clearly, we still don’t have any long-term injuries. For instance, Conor Bradley, Alistair McCann, and Shayne Lavery remain unaccounted for due to injuries.
“So, on top of the older players who have missed out, there are three players that we would have hoped to have gotten a lot more out of this campaign, but their involvement has been very minimal.”
“Well, I believe that the team is fairly stable.” In terms of where we are right now, it is what it is. The backing has been excellent. I believe they recognise where we are. Although they are patient, it is clear that they want a team that will inspire them and give them something to cheer about.
Lavery made his senior Northern Ireland debut against Panama in 2018 and has since accrued 17 caps and three goals for his country. This season, he has made 15 appearances for Neil Critchley’s team and scored five goals.
