Lafferty injury forces rethink

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill faces a late change of plan ahead of tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Russia, with Kyle Lafferty missing out with an Achilles injury.

The striker scored for new club Palermo on Sunday but also picked up a knock and, due to the short turnaround time, has not been able to join his international team-mates in Belfast.

“It’s disappointing that Kyle isn’t in the squad but we were always going to be under pressure with players playing on the Sunday,” said O’Neill.