Sunderland duo spark injury fears after international non-inclusion – but the real reason emerges
Sunderland pair missing international duty and sparked fan concern, but the real reason has now emerged
Trai Hume sat out Northern Ireland’s final World Cup qualifier on Monday night, with the Sunderland defender deliberately rested to avoid a costly suspension ahead of next year’s play-offs.
Hume is one booking away from a ban, and any caution in the match against Luxembourg would have ruled him out of March’s knockout tie. With the stakes so high, boss Michael O’Neill chose to remove all risk, giving both Hume and Justin Devenny the night off, while talismanic Conor Bradley was withdrawn at half-time for the same reason.
Dan Ballard was already sidelined through suspension, meaning Northern Ireland were without their two first-choice centre-halves, but O’Neill used the opportunity to hand important minutes to a number of emerging players. Jamie Donley grabbed the headlines with his first senior international goal, Jamie McDonnell impressed on his first start, Ruairi McConville continued his strong form at the back, and teenager Patrick Kelly made his senior debut. Ballard and Hume’s non inclusion had sparked some fears amongst Sunderland fans that the pair were injured but the real reasons have become clear.
Northern Ireland sealed a flat but professional 1–0 win, but O’Neill was keen to highlight the bigger picture as his team look ahead to a daunting play-off against one of Europe’s top seeds. “We obviously had to make a lot of changes to the team. If you look at the players we used tonight, five of the players are under 21, so I think that’s really positive for us,” he said.
He added that Luxembourg had been far tougher opponents throughout the campaign than results suggested, and praised his side’s ability to take six points from them. "Luxembourg are a good team. The results in this campaign are probably a little bit harsh on them, and their performances have been good. They've not been beaten easily in any of the games, so we take a lot from the fact that we beat them 3–1 away and 1–0 at home. A clean sheet was a positive, and a lot of good performances as well."
Despite finishing third in their qualifying group, Northern Ireland now face a one-off semi-final in March as they attempt to reach their first World Cup since 1986. O’Neill admitted his side have been hit hard by injuries and several difficult decisions across the campaign, but insisted the development of his younger players gives him belief heading into the play-offs.
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"I think at times we've been a little bit unfortunate with some of the decisions that have gone against us and also a little bit unfortunate with the players we've had unavailable to us with injury as well," O'Neill said. “We’ve made a lot of progression, and that gives us a lot of optimism for the games in March,” he said.
For Sunderland supporters, the hope will be that both Hume and Ballard return from international duty fully fit and ready to rejoin Regis Le Bris’ side as the Premier League campaign resumes on Saturday, with the Black Cats set to travel to Craven Cottage to face Fulham.
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