Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill says Kyle Lafferty is “no more important” than any of the players in his squad, after the Rangers striker withdrew himself from the national team for fitness reasons.
O’Neill admitted disappointment in the centre-forward pulling out of the team, but also revealed he wasn’t guaranteed to be a starter for their double-header against Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
As per The Sun, O’Neill said: “Kyle is no more important than any other player we have here. There was no guarantee Kyle was going to come here and play anyway.