Evans 'vitally important' to O'Neill plans

Michael O’Neill is crossing his fingers that Jonny Evans will be fit enough to feature from the start in his first competitive games as Northern Ireland manager.

As a Manchester United regular, Evans arguably has the most big-game experience at club level within the Northern Ireland squad, but his international career has been hampered by injury and former boss Nigel Worthington’s preference to play him at left-back.