Dan Ballard was absent from Northern Ireland’s recent match before Sunderland’s game against Stoke City on Saturday. In the match against Slovenia, the Sunderland defender was not part of the Northern Ireland team, which suffered a 1-0 defeat at home on Tuesday.
In a previous game against San Marino, Ballard had the honor of being named the captain by Jonny Evans, a Manchester United player and former loanee of the Black Cats. They both played as central defenders for Northern Ireland in that match, with Evans earning his 104th cap at the age of 35, and Ballard, at 24, achieving his 15th cap.
During the San Marino clash, Ballard completed the full 90 minutes alongside his Sunderland teammate Trai Hume and former Sunderland player Paddy McNair, who currently plays for Middlesbrough.
However, Ballard woke up on the following day with a tightness in his thigh, a condition that the Northern Ireland staff is monitoring. This tightness prevented him from participating in the subsequent match against Slovenia in Group H of the Euro 2024 qualifying group. Northern Ireland’s coach, O’Neill, mentioned that Ballard didn’t report this issue during the previous match, and they could have substituted him had they been aware of it.
In response to Ballard’s absence, O’Neill expressed confidence in the team’s depth, mentioning alternative options like Eoin Toal, Trai Hume’s experience as a center-half at his club, and Shea Charles, who has played as a center-back. O’Neill also suggested the possibility of calling up a player from the Under-21 squad if Daniel Ballard is unable to play in the upcoming matches.
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