Sheffield United's Oliver Norwood out of Northern Ireland games
Tuesday 21 May 2019 18:43, UK
Sheffield United midfielder Ollie Norwood has been ruled out of Northern Ireland’s European Championship qualifiers against Estonia and Belarus following hernia surgery.
Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill told Sky Sports News: "He has had surgery so won't be available for the upcoming games.
"He had carried a groin injury for the second half of the season which saw him out of the qualifiers in March.
"Hopefully he comes back in pre-season and he's in a good place and in a good place in terms of where he is at his club too."
Norwood, 28, has made 57 appearances for Northern Ireland, and only Steven Davis has won more caps during O'Neill's eight-year tenure.
The former Manchester United youth player's promotion with Sheffield United, as well as Norwich City duo Jamal Lewis and Michael McGovern reaching the top flight, means O'Neill now has an extra three Premier League players available to him.
O'Neill added: "It helps if you have players playing at as high a level as possible.
"Ollie has worked very hard in his career and was promoted with Fulham and Brighton but wasn't involved in their Premier League campaigns.
"But he will show now that he's more than capable of playing at that level."
Watch Estonia vs Northern Ireland on June 8 from 7:45pm on Sky Sports Football.
