Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis out of South Korea friendly in Belfast

Published on: 22 March 2018

Steven Davis has scored 10 goals in his 101 appearances for Northern IrelandInternational friendly: Northern Ireland v South KoreaVenue: Windsor Park, Belfast Date: Saturday, 24 March Kick-off: 14:00 GMTCoverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Ulster FM and the BBC Sport website

Northern Ireland will be without Steven Davis for the friendly against South Korea in Belfast after the skipper was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

The midfielder has missed Southampton's last five games with the injury and has remained in England rather than linking up with his NI team-mates.

NI manager Michael O'Neill also has concerns over Niall McGinn, Kyle Lafferty and Stuart Dallas.

It means O'Neill could turn to the Under-21s to swell his squad.

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However, O'Neill is unsure if he would actually select any of Ian Barraclough's players given the senior game is sandwiched between two huge U21 qualifiers, against Spain and Iceland, in their bid to reach Euro 2019.

"It's been a wee bit tricky. Davo (Davis) is out, we've doubts over Niall, we've doubts over Kyle and checking a little bit on Stuart as well," he said.

"We have to be careful with the players given the time of year it is and the nature of the game.

"The game will provide an opportunity for some of those players like Jordan Jones and Jamal Lewis and one or two others.

"The U21s play on Thursday so there is always the opportunity to add one or two of those players from that squad into the senior game as well.

"If an U21 player or players come in, it won't just be for the experience - it will be because we believe they can contribute as well. They also have a game on Monday so we also have to balance that."

Northern Ireland squad:

Goalkeepers: Michael McGovern (Norwich City), Trevor Carson (Motherwell), Conor Hazard (Falkirk on loan)

Defenders: Aaron Hughes (Hearts), Gareth McAuley (West Brom), Jonny Evans (West Brom), Craig Cathcart (Watford), Conor McLaughlin (Millwall), Lee Hodson (Rangers), Paddy McNair (Sunderland), Jamal Lewis (Norwich City)

Midfielders: Steven Davis (Southampton), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Oliver Norwood (Fulham on loan), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Shane Ferguson (Millwall), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), George Saville (Millwall), Jordan Jones (Kilmarnock).

Forwards: Kyle Lafferty (Hearts), Josh Magennis (Charlton Athletic), Jamie Ward (Cardiff City on loan), Conor Washington (QPR), Liam Boyce (Burton Albion)

Source: bbc.com

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