Michael O’Neill names Jonny Evans in Northern Ireland squad for qualifiers

Michael O’Neill is confident Jonny Evans will be fit to lead Northern Ireland into their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign later this month despite an injury which has kept the Leicester defender out since November.

Evans has been named in O’Neill’s first Northern Ireland squad since he returned to the national job in December, and the 35-year-old’s experience will be key in a group that is missing captain Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans, Ali McCann, and Shayne Lavery due to injuries.

But Evans – who earned his 100th cap in what proved to be Ian Baraclough’s final game in charge in Greece – has not played for Leicester since before the World Cup, suffering with a calf injury and more recently a thigh strain.